Marfan syndrome is caused by defects in a gene called fibrillin-1. Fibrillin-1 plays an important role as the building block for elastic tissue in the body.
The gene defect also causes too much growth of the long bones of the body. This causes the tall height and long arms and legs seen in people with this syndrome. How this overgrowth happens is not well understood.
Other areas of the body that are affected include:
* Lung tissue
* The aorta, the main blood vessel that takes blood from the heart to the body may stretch or become weak (called aortic dilation or aortic aneurysm)
* The eyes, causing cataracts and other problems
* Tissue covering the spinal cord
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