Judging by photos and the FBI`s physical records, Osama bin Laden could be acandidate for the diagnosis. He is aforesaid to be between 6 ft 4 inches and 6 foot6, which is apparently unusual for his family. He is thin, bony and has littlemuscle; he weighs only 160 pounds. And he uses a cane - possibly the result ofconnective tissue or back problems. Other data around the leader ofal-Qaida suggests he may experience a nerve condition.
His facial structure alsoresembles that of mass with Marfan.
"He is Marfanoid," says Dr. Richard Devereux, a clinician who treats patientswith the malady at the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. "He seems tohave long fingers and long arms. His head appears to be lengthened and his facenarrow _ It`s certainly conceivable that he has the Marfan syndrome and couldbe evaluated for it."
Though people consume long speculated about bin Laden having Marfan, federalofficials won`t answer questions about his health. "We don`t discuss the medicalconditions of our enemy commanders," says Maj. Jay Steuck, a Defense Departmentspokesman. And a Central Intelligence Agency spokesman says, "We don`t dounclassified medical summaries."
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Yossef Bodansky, staff director of the House Task Force on Terrorism, toldthe New York Post: "We are getting a lot of reports and rumors. By all accounts,bin Laden is not a sound man and is under a lot of stress."
David K. Schenker, a research associate at the Washington Institute for NearEast Policy, agrees that bin Laden`s size is irregular for his surroundings. "Ilived in the Middle East, and I never ran into anyone that tall," hesays.
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Should bin Laden have Marfan syndrome, the accent of cave-hopping and tryingto outrun Allied cruise missiles could prove deadly. "People with the diseaseare told not to operate in heavy exercise," says Dr. Darwin Prockop, director ofthe Center for Gene Therapy at Tulane University. "If Osama bin Laden hasMarfan, he is in peril of sudden snap of the aorta and sudden death."
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