Werner syndrome (WS) (sometimes Werner's syndrome), also known as "adult progeria", is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder which is characterized by the appearance of premature aging.Werner syndrome is named after the German scientist Otto Werner. He identified the syndrome in four siblings observed with premature aging, which he explored as the subject of his dissertation of 1904.It has a global incidence rate of less than 1 in 100,000 live births (although incidence in Japan and Sardinia is higher, affecting 1 in 20,000–40,000 and 1 in 50,000, respectively). [Source: Wikipedia ]