Rania, aka Didek 74, died of progeria on Oct 15 at the age of 16.© Didek 74 / Youtube

PARIS: French social media users were in mourning October 15, after learning that 16-year-old viral sensation Rania passed away.

The teen suffered from progeria, or Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, a very rare genetic disorder that results in symptoms of premature ageing.

Rania became famous online thanks to the humorous videos she created with French YouTuber GameMixTreize.

It was he who announced her death online Thursday night, prompting many retweets and tributes.

The young woman was mostly known for her maintaining her sense of humour and optimism despite suffering from the rare syndrome called progeria.

A very rare disease

Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome is little known and rarely spoken about, as it currently only affects 100 to 200 people in the world.

And while the disorder may bring the film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” starring Brad Pitt to mind, in reality people who suffer from this disease don’t become younger with time.

The disease is fatal in all cases, and sufferers live to an average age of 13-14 years.