Because Marfan patients are at increased risk for infective endocarditis, they must take a prophylactic dose of an antibiotic before having dental work or minor surgery, as these procedures may allow bacteria to enter the bloodstream.
Myopia (nearsightedness). Most patients with Marfan develop nearsightedness, usually in childhood.
This condition is much more prevalent in patients with Marfan syndrome than in the general population.
Retinal detachment. Patients with Marfan are more vulnerable to this disorder because of the weakness of their connective tissues.
Between 50 and 80% of Marfan patients have dislocated lenses.
About 90% of Marfan patients will develop cardiac complications.
The weak dura in Marfan patients swells or bulges under the pressure of the spinal fluid. This swelling is called ectasia.
Smoking is particularly harmful for Marfan patients because it increases their risk of emphysema.
A few patients with Marfan may have a pectus excavatum on one side of their chest and a pectus carinatum on the other.
Patients with Marfan should have a thorough eye examination, including a slit-lamp examination, to test for dislocation of the lens as well as nearsightedness.
Yes. Marfan syndrome is a congenital disorder affecting the formation of fibrillin. In Marfan syndrome, the abnormal fibrillin is responsible for many of the findings of the disease. Hyperextensibility/hyperelasticity of joints is one of the hallmark signs. Pectus excavatum is another. People with Marfan syndrome are typically very tall and thin, with very long fingers and toes (arachnodactyly). The fibrillin defect also affects the blood vessels, especially the large arteries, such as the aorta. Disordered fibrillin production causes these arteries to be weaker than normal, predisposing patients with Marfan syndrome to aortic dissections and rupture. This the major cause of death for patients with Marfan syndrome.
Cataracts are treated with increasing success by implant surgery. It is important, however, to seek treatment at medical centers with eye surgeons familiar with the possible complications of cataract surgery in patients with Marfan syndrome.
Marfan syndrome is found in 1 in every 5,000 - 10,000 births. If one of your parents has Marfan syndrome, you have a 50% chance of having Marfan syndrome.