Karimnagar: 15-year-old Nihal Bitla, India’s first recognised Progeria patient died on Monday night at Karimnagar district in Telangana state.
Nihal with his family had gone to his native village in Telangana to attend a family wedding.
He was suffering from arthritis for a long time and dehydration is being suspected as a cause of his sudden death since the climatic conditions in Telangana did not suit Nihal’s weakening body.
Nihal met his Bollywood icon actor Aamir Khan after he expressed his desire to meet his favourite actor on his Facebook post in December 2015 which went viral.
Nihal was suffering from Progeria, an extremely rare genetic disorder characterised by premature aging symptoms.
“He appeared like a 60-year-old when he was just 10,” Dr Parag Tamhankar from the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, who had diagnosed Nihal with progeria, was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying.