Family fundraising for rare condition
Jasmine Sanderson was diagnosed with a rare disorder known as Stone Man Syndrome at just 19-months-old. The condition gradually turns body's ligaments, muscles and tendons into bone.
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Research for rare disease
by Frances Read
The family of a little girl with an incurable disease is trying to raise money for research
Read the full storyYoung girl battles rare bone condition
The family of a young girl suffering from a rare condition in which her body tissue turns to bone are raising money for research into the disorder.
Five-year-old Jasmine Sanderson, from Hartlepool in County Durham, has Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), also known as Stone Man Syndrome.
The condition affects an estimated one in every million people, and causes the body’s ligaments, muscles and tendons to gradually turn into bone.
At the moment there is no cure for the disorder, but Jasmine’s parents are hoping research will help their daughter.
Her mother, Kelly, said:
– Kelly Sanderson, Jasmine's mother"It is our only hope. We know that without treatment Jasmine will only get worse.
"I can feel little hard bits of bone on Jasmine's back, once they appear there is nothing we can do.”
Around £120,000 is now required by February next year to continue research into the condition.
Professor Paul Wordsworth of Oxford University, an expert in FOP, said:
– Professor Paul Wordsworth, Oxford University"This eventually leads to the fusing of the spine, the fusing of the chest, it fuses the arms to the sides of the body and leads to progressive immobility.
"If we can find something to stop the bone forming it will revolutionise our treatment of the condition.”