Monday, May 26, 2008

Deviated Septum--Another Connective Tissue Disorder

While viewing an image of a deviated septum [here's an example: Deviated Septum] in a medical text I'm studying for a course I'm taking, I noticed that it reminded me of the exaggerated S-curve of scoliosis. I realized that the septum is composed of cartilage--a connective tissue--and that deviated septum can therefore be classed as yet another connective tissue disorder. I looked into it and found two sources that indicate that deviated septum is associated with Marfan syndrome (see below).

As Sandy Simmons has pointed out in her excellent website, Sandy Simmon's Connective Tissue Disorder Site, large amounts of accumulating evidence indicate that connective tissue disorders like Marfan syndrome are associated with modern foods, malabsorption and nutritional deficiencies. So deviated septum looks like yet another "disease of civilization" with diet as a likely cause, possibly the primary cause (with genetics being another factor).

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Ageing in Marfan Syndrome
“With the exception of deviated septum, ENT features were not significantly more prevalent in patients with MFS than our controls.”

Marfan Syndrome: Long-term Survival and Complications After Aortic Aneurysm Repair
“A complete review of systems was obtained and medical records were reviewed to identify other potential pleiotropic manifestations of Marfan syndrome related to aging. Twenty-two percent of patients had been diagnosed with arthritis by a physician, with the mean age of 33 years at diagnosis. Twenty-three percent of patients had varicose veins not associated with pregnancy (19 of 47 women and 14 of 51 men). Fourteen percent of patients had experienced a ruptured or herniated disc. Ten percent of the women had prolapse of the uterus, and 10% of women had prolapse of the bladder. Twenty-eight patients (15%) had gallstones. Twenty-two of the patients (11%) had a deviated nasal septum.”