Anxiety disorders and depression can cause a loss of appetite, general malaise, and possibly even shortness of breath and chest pain during a panic attack. Terry s mitral valve prolapse is associated with Marfan s due to the loss in tensile strength of his valve leaflets. The lack of normal fibrillin affects both the valve and chordae tendineae, so the pressurized blood can flow back into the left atrium and manifest as a mid-systolic click. Terry also wears glasses to augment his vision. The weakened suspensory ligaments of the lens disrupts proper accommodation, and thus his vision.
Hyperextensible joints are due to laxity from the fibrillin defect.
In addition, the long limbs and scoliosis are results of his connective tissue disorder where in his case bones of the left thorax and extremities are overgrowing. The pneumothorax is caused by pulmonary blebs attributed to Marfan s. The compromised fibrillin of the alveoli leave it less susceptible to normal elastic recoil. As the affected alveoli continue to sequester gases, they are prone to rupture, giving rise to a pneumothorax. Assuming the early death of Terry s family members were due to the disease Terry has, describe the genetic inheritance pattern in this family.