One hundred and sixty one patients have been enrolled in the trial. There were approximately 120 patients with the Marfan syndrome and 40 controls. Although we are continuing to investigate new patients, thus far we have failed to detect a reproducible difference in noninvasively-measured arterial compliance between our patients and controls. Our data stand in contrast to two previously published reports that document such a difference. We have, however, been quite productive in several related areas. A manuscript documenting the importance of family history in predicting future events was published this fall in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The manuscript breaks new ground in providing guidance for clinicians for assessment of Marfan's patients at risk. A second manuscript delineating the current epidemiology of the Marfan Syndrome and emphasizing the improvement in survival was also published in the American Journal of Cardiology. Our data have been presented at the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American Society for Human Genetics Scientific Sessions. In addition to ongoing work on the compliance data, we are currently designing a prospective trial to test the efficacy of calcium channel blockers in attenuation of aortic dilatation for patients who are either resistant to or intolerant of beta blockade.
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