Health
New Jersey twins receive matching heart surgeries after Marfan syndrome diagnosis: 'A better life'
The notion that twins do everything together has met a new standard.
Identical twin brothers Pablo and Julio Delcid, 21, underwent matching heart surgeries on the exact same day following their diagnosis of Marfan syndrome.
The duo, of Dover, New Jersey, had been alerted to their risk of Marfan syndrome because a majority of their family members also have it, the twins told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview.
FOUR TEXAS RESIDENTS FOREVER CONNECTED BY TWO KIDNEY DONATIONS IN DIFFERENT CITIES: ‘SUPERBLY TIMED’
“We’re a family of five. I have two older sisters who have it,” Julio Delcid said. “My older brother doesn’t have it as much … But I also have other family members who have it, too — pretty much through my whole family on my mom’s side.”
Left to right, Pablo Delcid and Julio Delcid celebrate Christmas with some of their family members. (Pablo and Julio Delcid)
“It’s very genetic,” Pablo Delcid added. “When we were younger and were first diagnosed with it, nobody knew what it was.”
He added, “Nobody knew they even had it until tests kept coming in, and they were like, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty genetic. Everyone should get tested.’”
What is Marfan syndrome?
Fox News Digital spoke with Dr. Benjamin Van Boxtel, surgical director at the Atlantic Aortic Center at Morristown Medical Center, in a separate interview about the condition; he performed the twins’ surgeries.
The cardiovascular surgeon said that while Marfan syndrome is mostly genetic, it can also occur at random. It’s a defect of the gene that creates connective tissues in the human body, he said.
FLORIDA STUDENT AND TEACHER BOND OVER MATCHING SCARS FROM THEIR OPEN-HEART SURGERIES: ‘TOUGH COOKIES’
“Because it’s a broad defect in these connective tissues, it can affect many different parts of the body,” he said. “So, this could be anywhere from the eyes to the spine and … the heart.”
“The most dangerous symptom you could develop with Marfan syndrome is a dilation of the aorta, specifically in the root,” he added.
Van Boxtel said the aortic root in Marfan syndrome can become dilated or enlarged, which can cause an “immediately fatal” tear or rupture.
Van Boxtel holds up a “tube-shaped graft” model used during a valve sparing root operation, in which the surgeon “replaces the aortic root and then hand-sews leaflet by leaflet inside that graft.” (Angelica Stabile/Fox News Digital)
“Or it can cause something called an aortic dissection, which is also potentially very fatal, and becomes a surgical emergency,” he said. “That’s unfortunately how a lot of people who have Marfan syndrome pass away.”
Many of those people don’t even know they have the syndrome, Van Boxtel noted.
A valve-sparing root procedure performed before a dilated aorta dissects can be a life-saving operation.
TWO WOMEN WITH HEART DISEASE HAD TO FIGHT FOR A DIAGNOSIS. HERE’S HOW THEY ADVOCATED FOR THEIR HEALTH
Marfan syndrome can be difficult to spot, according to Van Boxtel, as it’s often marked by common symptoms such as chest pain, poor vision — or being tall and having long limbs.
“When you have an aneurysm [from a] dilated aorta, it’s generally asymptomatic, meaning you feel absolutely nothing,” he said. “You feel completely fine … Aneurysm disease is silent, it’s asymptomatic — which can be really dangerous.”
Left to right, Julio Delcid, the twins’ mother, Betulia Miranda, and Pablo Delcid snap a selfie. (Pablo and Julio Delcid)
Pablo Delcid, for his part, said there’s “not much you can feel when you’re growing into the condition.”
He added, “What we didn’t know was that our bodies were changing … obviously with height, vision, the length of our arms, feet, legs, even with our chest.”
Surgery on the same day
The twins’ mother, Betulia Miranda, had an emergency procedure on Oct. 8, 2023, after experiencing an aortic dissection, which the boys described as “excruciating” for her.
After their mother’s surgery was a success, the twins decided to seek preventative surgery performed by Dr. Van Boxtel – but their one request was that they do it together.
“Of course they’re like, ‘Can we go at the same time?’” the doctor said with a laugh.
FLORIDA BRAIN TUMOR PATIENT PLAYS GUITAR DURING HIS SURGERY: ‘THIS IS WILD’
Van Boxtel, a father of twins himself, said the double surgery was like “nothing I’ve ever done before.”
He said, “I’ve done this procedure hundreds of times. But to do it back-to-back on twin brothers — it was an experience, that’s for sure.”
It was decided that Pablo Delcid would go first, since he was born five minutes before his brother, followed by Julio Delcid several hours later.
Julio Delcid, left, and Pablo Delcid underwent heart surgery on Jan. 5, 2024. (Pablo and Julio Delcid)
“We always do everything together,” Pablo Delcid said. “We live together, go through everything together … We didn’t think we could get the operation done together, but everything [was] successful.”
The twins agreed that they felt “safer” knowing they were going through the procedure together.
“You kind of feel like you’re not going to lose that person,” Julio Delcid said. “They’re sticking with you, side by side.”
“Aneurysm disease is silent, it’s asymptomatic — which can be really dangerous.”
Pablo Delcid added, “It’s like your gut’s telling you, ‘All right, if I make it, he’s going to make it.’”
On surgery day, Jan. 5, 2024, Van Boxtel and his team distinguished the twins from one another using color-coded ankle bracelets.
The surgeon emphasized the rarity of double heart surgery on twins, especially at such a young age of 21. “This is like the ultimate twin study,” he said.
Van Boxtel said it was “freaky” when he realized that the brothers’ hearts were also identical.
“I knew they could be different on the inside, but it ended up that they were the exact same,” he said.
Julio Delcid said he was “shocked” that a surgeon like Van Boxtel could take on both surgeries back to back.
“He did the best he could,” he said. “He successfully saved our aortic valves, replacing the aneurysm … We were very appreciative.”
More about Marfan
Marfan syndrome affects about one in 5,000 people, according to Van Boxtel, and impacts men and women equally.
“About 75% of those cases are genetic,” he said. “But about 25% of Marfan cases are actually not inherited. They’re not from a parent. They’re a spontaneous mutation.”
ONE FAMILY DONATES FOUR KIDNEYS TO SAVE A NEW YORK MAN’S LIFE: ‘DEFIED ALL ODDS’
Along with a dilated aortic root (enlarged aorta) or narrow dissection (tear in an artery), patients also run the risk of having a leaky valve, which can lead to heart failure symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and inability to perform normal exertional activity, Van Boxtel said.
Since Marfan syndrome is often hard to spot on the surface, the Delcid twins emphasized the importance of getting tested, especially for those within the Latin and Hispanic communities.
Julio Delcid said that those at risk of Marfan syndrome should “take the time to get yourself checked out.” (Pablo and Julio Delcid)
“It’s pretty lethal,” Pablo Delcid said. “We almost lost our mother, and that was a traumatic experience.”
People with symptoms or with a family history of Marfan syndrome should educate themselves on how best to prevent an aneurysm and connect with a cardiology team, Julio Delcid reiterated.
ARIZONA STUDENTS RAISE NEARLY $10K FOR HEART SURGERY FOR TEACHER’S WIFE: ‘MADE ME CRY’
“It’s just very important to take the time and the opportunity to get the best treatment that they could possibly get, because if they wait, consequences will happen later,” he said.
“Don’t fear anything. Just take the time to get yourself checked out and get the help that you need to live a better life.”
Looking ahead with new hope
With the stresses of heart surgery behind them, the twins said they’re looking forward to getting outside, playing sports and exercising more than they could before.
“Both their valves were saved,” Van Boxtel said. “They weren’t leaking at the end. All the things that we look for in a very successful repair they had, and they’re going to go on and live normal, healthy lives.”
“It’s a very serious problem … but there’s prevention available, and if you get it at the right time, it can be very successful.”
He said he hoped that “these valves last a really, really long time, if not the rest of their lives. They’re much better off now than they were walking around with aneurysms.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Van Boxtel thanked his team for handling the complex, same-day operations on young men with their “whole lives ahead of them.”
Dr. Benjamin Van Boxtel is a cardiovascular surgeon and the surgical director of the Atlantic Aortic Center at Morristown Medical Center. (Atlantic Health System)
The Marfan Foundation has various resources for patients at all stages of the condition, the doctor noted.
“I can’t underscore how important it is for patients with aneurysms to be seen by a surgeon or a team who is comfortable performing that,” he said.
“It’s a very, very serious problem … but there’s prevention available, and if you get it at the right time, it can be very successful.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Long before the Black Death killed millions across Europe in the Middle Ages, an earlier, more elusive version of the plague spread across much of Eurasia.
For years, scientists were unsure how the ancient disease managed to spread so widely during the Bronze Age, which lasted from roughly 3300 to 1200 B.C., and stick around for nearly 2,000 years, especially since it wasn’t spread by fleas like later plagues. Now, researchers say a surprising clue may help explain it, a domesticated sheep that lived more than 4,000 years ago.
Researchers found DNA from the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in the tooth of a Bronze Age sheep discovered in what is now southern Russia, according to a study recently published in the journal Cell. It is the first known evidence that the ancient plague infected animals, not just people, and offers a missing clue about how the disease spread.
SCIENTISTS CRACK THE CODE ON NEW VACCINE FOR DEADLY PLAGUE BACTERIA
“It was alarm bells for my team,” study co-author Taylor Hermes, a University of Arkansas archaeologist who studies ancient livestock and disease spread, said in a statement. “This was the first time we had recovered the genome from Yersinia pestis in a non-human sample.”
A domesticated sheep, likely similar to this one, lived alongside humans during the Bronze Age. (iStock)
And it was a lucky discovery, according to the researchers.
“When we test livestock DNA in ancient samples, we get a complex genetic soup of contamination,” Hermes said. “This is a large barrier … but it also gives us an opportunity to look for pathogens that infected herds and their handlers.”
DEADLY BACTERIA THAT DOOMED NAPOLEON’S ARMY DISCOVERED 213 YEARS AFTER RUSSIAN RETREAT
The highly technical and time-consuming work requires researchers to separate tiny, damaged fragments of ancient DNA from contamination left by soil, microbes and even modern humans. The DNA they recover from ancient animals is often broken into tiny pieces sometimes just 50 “letters” long, compared to a full human DNA strand, which contains more than 3 billion of those letters.
Animal remains are especially tough to study because they are often poorly preserved compared to human remains that were carefully buried, the researchers noted.
The finding sheds light on how the plague likely spread through close contact between people, livestock and wild animals as Bronze Age societies began keeping larger herds and traveling farther with horses. The Bronze Age saw more widespread use of bronze tools, large-scale animal herding and increased travel, conditions that may have made it easier for diseases to move between animals and humans.
When the plague returned in the Middle Ages during the 1300s, known as the Black Death, it killed an estimated one-third of Europe’s population.
The discovery was made at Arkaim, a fortified Bronze Age settlement in the Southern Ural Mountains of present-day Russia near the Kazakhstan border. (iStock)
“It had to be more than people moving,” Hermes said. “Our plague sheep gave us a breakthrough. We now see it as a dynamic between people, livestock and some still unidentified ‘natural reservoir’ for it.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
Researchers believe sheep likely picked up the bacteria from another animal, like rodents or migratory birds, that carried it without getting sick and then passed it to humans. They say the findings highlight how many deadly diseases begin in animals and jump to humans, a risk that continues today as people move into new environments and interact more closely with wildlife and livestock.
“It’s important to have a greater respect for the forces of nature,” Hermes said.
The study is based on a single ancient sheep genome, which limits how much scientists can conclude, they noted, and more samples are needed to fully understand the spread.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
The researchers plan to study more ancient human and animal remains from the region to determine how widespread the plague was and which species may have played a role in spreading it.
Researchers (not pictured) found plague-causing Yersinia pestis DNA in the remains of a Bronze Age sheep. (iStock)
They also hope to identify the wild animal that originally carried the bacteria and better understand how human movement and livestock herding helped the disease travel across vast distances, insights that could help them better anticipate how animal-borne diseases continue to emerge.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The research was led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, with senior authors Felix M. Key of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology and Christina Warinner of Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology.
The research was supported by the Max Planck Society, which has also funded follow-up work in the region.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
POST-DOSE PATTERN — New research reveals why the COVID vaccine can trigger heart issues, especially in one group
PREVENTION PAYOFF — Simple lifestyle changes could slash heart attack risk for millions
A new study has identified why mRNA COVID-19 vaccines could trigger heart issues, especially in one demographic. (iStock)
SMOKE SCREEN — A major cannabis study finds little proof for popular medical claims and flags big dangers
HIDDEN LINK — A common dental health issue may hint at a dangerous cardiovascular condition
SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
SCREENING DEBATE — A new study questions whether annual mammograms are necessary for most women
SUPER SPREAD — An “aggressive” new flu variant sweeps the globe as doctors warn of severe symptoms
The flu season has intensified as the new H3N2 variant causes severe illness worldwide. (iStock)
DANGEROUS DEFICIT — A nutrient deficiency has been linked to heart disease risk for millions
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH NEWS
CORONARY CHRISTMAS — Holiday heart attacks spike as doctors share hidden triggers and prevention tips
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Cases of gout are rising in younger individuals, according to a global study.
The condition, which is a type of inflammatory arthritis, steadily increased in people aged 15 to 39 between 1990 and 2021, researchers in China announced.
Although rates vary widely between countries, the total number of young people with the condition is expected to continue rising through 2035.
WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS COULD ADD YEARS TO AMERICANS’ LIVES, RESEARCHERS PROJECT
The study, published in the journal Joint Bone Spine, investigated 2021 data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), spanning 204 countries within the 30-year timeframe.
The data measured gout prevalence, incidence and years lived with disability, tracking global trends over time. The results showed a global increase across all three outcomes.
Gout is expected to continue rising in young people through 2035. (iStock)
Prevalence and disability years increased by 66%, and incidence rose by 62%. In 2021, 15- to 39-year-olds accounted for nearly 14% of new gout cases globally, the study found.
Men from 35 to 39 years old and people in high-income regions had the highest burden, but high-income North America topped the list for highest rates.
‘SKINNY FAT’ WARNING ISSUED AS STUDY FINDS HIDDEN OBESITY BEHIND NORMAL BMI
Men were also found to have lived more years with gout due to high BMI, while women tended to have the condition as a link to kidney dysfunction, the study noted.
The total number of cases is expected to increase globally due to population growth, but the study projected that rates per population would decrease.
The researchers noted that data quality, especially in low-income settings, could have posed a limitation to the broad GBD data.
What is gout?
Gout is a common form of arthritis involving sudden and severe attacks of pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in the joints, according to Mayo Clinic. It most often occurs in the big toe.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
The condition occurs when urate crystals accumulate in the joint. These form when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which the body produces when it breaks down a natural substance called purines.
A gout flare-up can happen at any time, often at night, causing the affected joint to feel hot, swollen, tender and sensitive to the touch.
Urate crystals, described as sharp and needle-like, build up in the joint, causing intense pain and swelling. (iStock)
Purines can also be found in certain foods, like red meat or organ meats like liver and some seafood, including anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout and tuna, according to the Mayo Clinic. Alcoholic drinks, especially beer, and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar can also lead to higher uric acid levels.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Uric acid will typically dissolve in the blood and pass through the kidneys into urine, but when the body produces too much or too little uric acid, it can cause a build-up of urate crystals. These are described by the Mayo Clinic as sharp and needle-like, causing pain, inflammation and swelling in the joint or surrounding tissue.
Risk factors for gout include a diet rich in high-purine foods and being overweight, which causes the body to produce more uric acid and the kidneys to have trouble eliminating it.
Experts urge patients to seek medical attention for gout flare-ups. (iStock)
Certain conditions like untreated high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome and heart and kidney diseases can increase the risk of gout, as well as certain medications.
A family history of gout can also increase risk. Men are more likely to develop the condition, as women tend to have lower uric acid levels, although symptoms generally develop after menopause.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Untreated gout can cause worsening pain and joint damage, experts caution. It may also lead to more severe conditions, such as recurrent gout, advanced gout and kidney stones.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
The Mayo Clinic advises patients to seek immediate medical care if a fever occurs or if a joint becomes hot and inflamed, which is a sign of infection. Certain anti-inflammatory medications can help treat gout flares and complications.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
Murdaugh family housekeeper says white truck ‘haunts’ her from night of murders years later
Trump endorses Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for New York governor after Stefanik’s exit
Detroit Tigers drop young hitter to make room for bullpen signing
San Francisco power outage left 130,000 in the dark as self-driving cars stalled in middle of streets
Dallas Housing Authority failed Roseland on safety
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: First Batch of Epstein Files Provides Few Revelations
FBI Director Kash Patel says bureau ramping up AI to counter domestic, global threats
Podcast: Brussels is broke and has no government
Apple, Google tell workers on visas to avoid leaving the U.S. amid Trump immigration crackdown
Sen Murphy warns ‘people are going to die’ as Congress punts on expiring Obamacare subsidies
-
Iowa6 days agoAddy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
-
Iowa1 week agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Maine5 days agoElementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
-
Maryland6 days agoFrigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
-
Technology1 week agoThe Game Awards are losing their luster
-
South Dakota7 days agoNature: Snow in South Dakota
-
New Mexico4 days agoFamily clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
-
World1 week agoCoalition of the Willing calls for transatlantic unity for Ukraine