Cockayne syndrome

noun

Cock·​ayne syndrome kä-ˈkān- 

variants also Cockayne's syndrome

: a rare disease that is marked especially by growth and developmental failure, photosensitivity, and premature aging, and that is either present at birth or has an onset during infancy or childhood

Children with Cockayne syndrome … develop cataracts, deafness and muscle-wasting, and usually die of infections such as pneumonia before they reach their twenties.

—New Scientist

Note: Cockayne syndrome is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait requiring that both parents pass on a copy of the defective gene on a chromosome other than a sex chromosome. The affected genes code for proteins which play a role in the repair of damaged DNA.