People with Marfan syndrome tend to have excessively long bones and are commonly thin, with long, "spider-like" fingers. Other problems include skeletal malformations, abnormal position of the lens of the eye, and enlargement at the beginning part of the aorta, the major vessel carrying blood away from the heart. If left untreated, an enlarged aorta can lead to hemorrhage and even death. This disorder results from mutations in the gene that makes fibrillin-1, a protein important to connective tissue.

Links to Marfan Syndrome

• National Marfan Foundation
• Overview of Marfan Syndrome with graphics
• Stanford University Marfan Center
• Marfan Syndrome - Does diet play a role
• Marfan Syndrome Reference Page: includes links, organizations, support groups, information and more

Marfan Syndrome

• Marfan Syndrome - Resource for teachers available from the National Marfan Foundation called Marfan Syndrome Need-to-Know Information for Teachers. The resource, available for free online or by request for a free CD-ROM, can help teachers who have a child in their class who has Marfan syndrome or a related disorder. To request a CD-ROM, send a request to support@marfan.org.

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