Diseases and Conditions

Understanding Marfan’s Syndrome

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What Causes Marfan’s Syndrome?

The sole cause of Marfan syndrome is a defect in the genes. These genes produce a protein that gives the connective tissue throughout your body elasticity and strength. The defective genes prevent the protein from providing the elasticity and strength the connective tissues require. Marfan syndrome develops as a result of the ineffectiveness of this protein.

Around 75 percent of individuals with Marfan syndrome inherit these abnormal genes from a parent who has this syndrome. If a parent has this syndrome, then their children will have a 50 percent chance of inheriting this condition. Around 25 percent of people who have Marfan syndrome developed this condition through a spontaneous mutation in the genes, which mean they did not inherit the gene from either parent. They also do not have a family history of this genetic disorder.