Michael+Phelps+Unintentionally+Raises+Marfan+Syndrome+Awareness

[|Fox News]

August 21, 2008


 * __ Michael Phelps Unintentionally Raises Marfan Syndrome Awareness __**

In 2008, Michael Phelps, and olympic swimmer and gold medalist, may have had a disease called Marfan syndrome. Media reports had noticed that he may have had this syndrome because of his high flexability and physically slender body. Having Marfan syndrome means that the person’s body’s connective tissue is defective. Some people with this disease may only have a few affected characteristics, while others may have severe affects. Michael Phelps had been checked for this disease at Johns Hopkins University and the results came out negative. Though death is a rare affect of this disease, it killed olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman and Broadway musical writer, John Larson. There are 200,000 people in the United States that have the disease or a related disorder. Many people can live a long life with proper treatment.

The best way to control this disease is to get checked out if you have some of the early stages of Marfan syndrome. This disease can cause your spine to curve, dislocate one or both of your eye lenses, the crowding of teeth, or even restrictive lung disease. This application can let people know that Marfan syndrome is not a rare disease and it can have extremely severe affects. The application affects people in a negative way. If more people find out about this disease and what the causes are, it will be safer for the people who have it. And, the doctors can know what to do to make more treatments to help prevent this disease.

By: Kelsey Barnes March 8, 2011