There’s currently no cure for Marfan syndrome. Treatment focuses on managing the symptoms and reducing the risk of complications. As Marfan syndrome affects several different parts of the body, your treatment programme will involve a number of healthcare professionals.
Can you catch Marfan syndrome from a person who has it?
The important thing to remember is that kids who have Marfan syndrome didn’t do anything wrong to cause their disease. And it’s not contagious either, meaning that kids who have it didn’t catch it like a cold or a flu and you can’t catch it from them.
Is Marfan syndrome life ending?
The life expectancy in this syndrome has increased to greater than 25% since 1972. People who are accurately diagnosed, adapt proper lifestyles and receive appropriate medical and surgical management may live for a normal life span (into their 70s). However, there are no guarantees.
Does Marfan syndrome shorten your life?
Data reported in 1972 indicated that lifespan in patients with the Marfan syndrome is markedly shortened, and that most deaths are cardiovascular.
At what age is Marfan syndrome usually diagnosed?
We found a median age at diagnose of 19.0 years (range: 0.0-74). The age at diagnosis increased during the study period, uninfluenced by the changes in diagnostic criteria.
Can you have a mild case of Marfan syndrome?
While most cases of Marfan syndrome are inherited, some are due to a spontaneous change in a gene, with no family history. Marfan syndrome can be mild to severe, and may become worse with age, depending on which area is affected and to what degree.
What famous person has Marfan syndrome?
Abraham Lincoln is the most famous American who had Marfan syndrome. So did Julius Caesar and Tutankhamen. In more recent times, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, basketball prospect Isaiah Austin and, perhaps, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had Marfan syndrome.
Is Marfan syndrome more common in males or females?
Marfan syndrome affects men and women equally and occurs among all races and ethnic groups. Because it’s a genetic condition, the greatest risk factor for Marfan syndrome is having a parent with the disorder.
Can kids with Marfan syndrome play sports?
The general guidelines for people with Marfan syndrome are to avoid competitive and contact sports that would put added stress on the aorta, cause chest or eye trauma, or be potentially damaging to loose ligaments and joints.
Does Marfan syndrome affect intelligence?
Some Marfan features – for example, aortic enlargement (expansion of the main blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body) – can be life-threatening. The lungs, skin and nervous system may also be affected. Marfan syndrome does not affect intelligence.
Can you tell if a baby has Marfan syndrome?
To be diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, your child must have some specific health problems affecting the heart, blood vessels, bones, and eyes. Your child may also have tests, such as: Electrocardiography (ECG). A test that records the electrical activity of the heart.
Are all Marfan patients tall?
In most cases, the disease progresses with age and symptoms of Marfan syndrome become noticeable as changes in connective tissue occur. People with Marfan syndrome are often very tall and thin.
What US president is thought to have had Marfan syndrome?
THIRTY years ago the idea that Lincoln had Marfan syndrome was raised inde- pendently by two physicians. Both based the impression in large part on Lincoln’s long limbs and descriptions by his con- temporaries of his loose-jointedness and unusual physique.
Does Marfan syndrome cause depression?
Baeza-Velasco and colleagues showed that certain diseases of connective tissue (e.g. Marfan and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) may be associated with various psychiatric symptoms, such as those of anxiety and depression.
Did Michael Jackson have marfans?
It’s a risk that can prove fatal. Jackson’s father, who is also presumed to have had Marfan syndrome, died when his son was two. “It was a heart complication, and they’re pretty sure he had Marfan as well — he was 47,” Jackson recalls.
What is the life expectancy of a person with Marfan syndrome?
The mean life expectancy for untreated patients with Marfan syndrome is 32 years with aortic dissection, aortic rupture or cardiac failure due to mitral and aortic valve regurgitation as the predominant cause of death in > 90% of the cases.
What is it called when you have long fingers?
Arachnodactyly. Specialty. Medical genetics. Arachnodactyly (“spider fingers”) is a condition in which the fingers and toes are abnormally long and slender, in comparison to the palm of the hand and arch of the foot.
Can a person with Marfan syndrome gain weight?
Many people with Marfan syndrome have difficulty gaining weight, especially when they are younger, no matter how much they eat and how many protein shakes they consume. Some do find that they do put on weight, particularly around their middle, when they get older.
What is the difference between Marfan and Ehlers Danlos?
Unlike Marfan syndrome, the fragile tissues and skin and unstable joints found in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are due to defects in a group of proteins called collagen, proteins that add strength and elasticity to connective tissue.
What should I monitor my child with Marfan syndrome?
Some of the more recognizable symptoms in children with Marfan syndrome are:
- Long arms, legs, fingers, and toes.
- Long and narrow face.
- Flexible joints.
- Curved spine.
- Chest sinks in or sticks out.
- Crowded teeth.
- Flat feet.
- Unexplained stretch marks on the skin.
Is Marfan syndrome serious?
Some complications of Marfan syndrome can be very serious, like an aneurysm (bulge) of the aorta, the main artery that takes blood away from the heart. Some complications of Marfan syndrome can be very serious, like an aneurysm (bulge) of the aorta, the main artery that takes blood away from the heart.
Does Marfan syndrome affect memory?
The authors found that MFS patients performed worse on sustained attention and memory than control participants. Rand-Hendriksen et al. found that adults with MFS, particularly those reporting more fatigue, experience some EF deficits on tasks measuring sustained attention or visual processing.
Can marfans skip generations?
Doctors there had more urgent news: The entire family could be at risk. “Dr. Bove told us we would need to be tested for the mutation that causes Marfan syndrome,” Post says. “He told us that Marfan does not skip a generation, so one of us likely had the syndrome.”