What is Marfan Syndrome:
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. Connective tissue holds all the body’s cells, organs and tissue together. It also plays an important role in helping the body grow and develop properly.
Who has Marfan Syndrome?:
About 1 in 5,000 people have Marfan syndrome, including men and women of all races and ethnic groups. About 3 out of 4 people with Marfan syndrome inherit it, meaning they get the genetic mutation from a parent who has it. But some people with Marfan syndrome are the first in their family to have it; when this happens it is called a spontaneous mutation. There is a 50 percent chance that a person with Marfan syndrome will pass along the genetic mutation each time they have a child. Marfan Syndrome is a dominant trait, and you can be born with it, or develop it in later life.
Some Common Signs of Marfan Syndrome:
Every person’s experience with Marfan syndrome is slightly different. No one has every feature and people have different combinations of features. Some features of Marfan syndrome are easier to see than others. These include:
(Source: marfan.org) How is the body affected?:Heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system)
(Source: ghr.nlm.nih.gov) Bones and joints (skeletal system)
(Source: marfan.org) Organ Systems Affected: Marfan Syndrome affects many organ systems, such as the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the ocular system, the skeletal system, and the cardiovascular system. |
(Source: marfan.org)
(Source for both of these images: medicine.net)
|