Thursday, February 3, 2011

Marfan Trial Nearing the End!

As many people know, I have a genetic connective tissue disorder called Marfan Syndrome. This disorder affects my whole body, but the most dangerous organ it affects is my heart. It can cause my aorta to become enlarged so much that one day I might need aortic valve replacement surgery.

I was enrolled in a clinical trial from 2007-2010 that looked at two blood pressure medicines (Losartan and Atenolol) and how they can affect the aorta in Marfan patients. Losartan was tested on Marfan rats and it showed that it decreased the aortic size and helped regrow muscle. This is a very exciting possibility for the Marfan community. There is no cure to Marfans, but this could definitely be a more effective treatment than a traditional beta blocker that slows down your hear rate just enough to hopefully manage the aorta. The trial finally has all of the participants it needs and will be ending in 2014! I am anxiously awaiting the results!

Although I believe I was on atenolol during my trial which made me tired, I was still happy that I participated. I want to help advance the research for Marfans so more fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, etc. don't die early from this disease like my dad did.

If anyone would like to do more research on Marfan Syndrome, the National Marfan Foundation website is www.marfan.org.

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