A teenager with a remarkably rare condition that means her body fails to age has died after suffering multiple organ damage caused by the disease, reports The Daily Mail.

Elena, an 18 year-old from Italy, was one of just 18 people in the world known to suffer the genetic disease, called NUBPL mitochondrial disease, which is caused by a mutation in the NUBPL gene.

She received her diagnosis aged 10 in 2016, making her the only known case in her home country of Italy.

In a gofundme page that raised €94,700 for a research project on the disease led by the University of Verona, Elena's mother Andreea explained that at age 15, Elena weighed just 15kg (just over three stone) and was 3ft7in tall.

Throughout her life, Elena weighed very little, struggled to grow and many of her organs including her lungs and bowels did not function properly.

The disorder causes catastrophic mutations to DNA that stops the body developing properly, meaning bones, muscles and other tissues are malformed.

Typically people with the disorder, which also affects the brain, suffer seizures, intellectual disability and ataxia—a neurological condition that describes a lack of muscle coordination, resulting in clumsy movements.

The NUBPL Foundation explained that these symptoms can start in children between 3 and 18 months old.