Muscle strength and body composition in adult women with Marfan syndrome.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess skeletal muscle function and body composition in a group of women with Marfan syndrome compared with matched controls.

Methods: The 21 women who were receiving follow-up for Marfan syndrome at our institution, were free of major cardiovascular disease, and consented to the study performed isokinetic and isometric knee extension and flexion maximal strength tests and had their body composition evaluated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The same assessments were done in 19 matched controls.

[Bone density and biological markers in a population of 330 women].

A population of 330 non-selected women underwent determination of bone density by means of Bi X absorptiometry of the lumbar spine and femur. The findings showed a negative correlation with the time since the menopause and a positive correlation with the duration of genitally active life and with substitutive hormonal treatment. The determination of the L1 density can replace that of the entire lumbar spine in cases in which osteoarthritis, atheroma or crushing make this determination unreliable.