as werner syndrome (ws), bloom syndrome (bs), rothmund-thomson syndromes (rts) and combined xeroderma pigmentosa-cockayne syndrome (xp-cs), are associated with an increased risk of developing cancer in the affected individual; two exceptions are hutchinson–gilford progeria (hgps) and cockayne syndrome. animal models within animal models for progeroid syndromes, early observations have detected abnormalities within overall mitochondrial function, signal transduction between membrane receptors, and nuclear regulatory proteins. other alterations in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, a triplet-repeat disorder (myotonic dystrophy) and an idiopathic disorder society and popular culture people hayley okines was an english girl with classic progeria famed for her efforts in spreading awareness of the condition. she was featured in the media. lizzie velásquez is an american motivational speaker who has a syndrome that resembles progeria, although the exact nature is unclear; it is now thought to be a form of neonatal progeroid syndrome. velásquez is an advocate of anti-bullying. jesper sørensen is widely recognized in denmark as the only child in denmark and scandinavia with progeria (as of 2008). his fame came about after a documentary in 2008 on tv 2 about sørensen. literature f. scott fitzgerald's 1922 short story the curious case of benjamin button is about a boy who was born with the appearance of a 70-year-old and who ages backwards. this short story is thought to be inspired by progeria. the description of the fictitious smallweed family in the charles dickens' bleak house suggests the characters had progeria. christopher snow, the main character in dean koontz's moonlight bay trilogy, has xeroderma pigmentosum, as does luke from the 2002 novel going out by scarlett thomas. in the visual novel chaos;head, the character shogun eventually dies of a progeroid syndrome, and in its sequel chaos;child, more characters get this same fictional progeroid syndrome, which by then is called chaos child syndrome. film paa, a 2009 indian comedy-drama film, features a protagonist, auro (amitabh bachchan), who has progeria. jack is a 1996 american comedy-drama film, in which the titular character (portrayed by robin williams) has werner syndrome. taiyou no uta, a 2006 japanese film, features kaoru amane (portrayed by yui), a 16-year-old girl has xeroderma pigmentosum.