Michael+Phelps+Unintentionally+Raises+Marfan+Syndrome+Awarness

[|Fox News] August 21, 2008

Michael Phelps was thought to have Marfan syndrome because of has long arms, slender physique, and increased flexibility. However, after being tested at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland it was found that Phelps was disease free. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disease in which the connective tissue in the body is defective. Connective tissue is located throughout the body, so this disease can affect many systems in the body. Some characteristics of Marfan include: enlargement of the aorta, restrictive lung disease, curvature of the spine, and dislocation of one or both eye lenses. Many people who have this disease don’t know it, and the death of former Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman due to complications with Marfan, caused people with symptoms of Marfan to get checked out. A good number of those people ended up having the disease and Dr. Reed Pyeritz, (chief of the medical division of genetics at the University of Pennsylvania) said, “there is great value in publicizing the symptoms of Marfan.” This application to genetics will affect people positively, because it promotes awareness of this disease and its symptoms. When people are informed about the symptoms of a disease, they can be on the lookout for it, for themselves and others around them. This was the first time I had heard of this disease, and that could be true of many people, so it also informs people on a basic level of what Marfan disease is. Knowledge of the symptoms and basic facts of this disease can save lives, and that is a positive effect.

Kara Reichard March 9, 2011