• G Mercuro, B Carpiniello, M Ruscazio, S Zoncu, R Montisci, N Rudas, and A Cherchi.
• Institute of Cardiology, University of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.
• Clin Cardiol. 1997 Mar 1;20(3):243-5.

BackgroundMarfan's syndrome is an inherited disorder of connective tissue associated with characteristic abnormalities of the skeletal, ocular, and cardiovascular systems. Marked clinical variability and age dependency of all manifestations of Marfan's syndrome may render the unequivocal diagnosis difficult in mildly affected, young subjects.HypothesisThe study and care of a 32-year-old woman with evidence of Marfan's syndrome, several cardiac abnormalities, and paranoid schizophrenia led to an investigation of her consenting relatives to verify the penetrance of Marfan's syndrome and the degree of comorbidity between the disease and psychiatric disorders.MethodsThe patient and 12 subjects belonging to three generations of her family underwent cardiovascular, skeletal, ophthalmologic, and psychiatric examinations. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography were performed.ResultsOne female index patient and six of her first-degree relatives were found to be affected by Marfan's syndrome. All seven patients were found to have mitral valve prolapse associated with other cardiac abnormalities. Four of these patients were affected by the following psychiatric disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, paranoid schizophrenia (two cases). Six more relatives without Marfan's syndrome showed mitral valve prolapse in association with other echocardiographic features. Two of these were found to be affected by a major depressive disorder.ConclusionsThe present data support the hypothesis that a psychiatric condition, associated with a significantly high frequency of cardiac involvement, may be part of the phenotype of Marfan's syndrome.

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