Monday, October 18, 2010

EDS

As I mentioned in my previous post, some people who have POTS, also have Ehlers- Danlos Syndrome.  Here is a little more information on EDS:

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder in which EDS sufferers have excessive connective tissue in their blood vessels.  This allows the vessels to distend and blood to pool in the legs.  The effects range from unstable joints to life threatening complications.  There are several different types of EDS, but three primary types.

The classical form of EDS includes types I and II, which is characterized by hyperextensible (soft & stretchy) skin, bruising, difficult wound healing, thin scars, and hypermobile joints (double jointed).

Type III is characterized by stretchy and soft skin, normal scar formation, and hyperflexable.  They tend to be pale, female, blonde haired, and blue eyed.  Those with any type of EDS have been observed to have delayed gastric emptying, mitral valve prolapse, joint dislocations, and chronic pain (Especially Type III).

Another condition closely related to EDS III, is joint hypermobility syndrome.  Almost 80% of these patients showed dysautonomic symptoms.  Also, they also tend to have fatigue, anxiety, migraines, flushing, night sweats, and sleep disturbances.  Type III or JHS describes me perfectly even though I have never been diagnosed with EDS or JHS.


The combined prevalence of all types of this condition may be about 1 in 5,000 individuals worldwide. The hypermobility and classic forms are most common; the hypermobility type may affect as many as 1 in 10,000 to 15,000 people, while the classic type probably occurs in 1 in 20,000 to 40,000 people.
Other forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are very rare. About 30 cases of the arthrochalasia type and fewer than 60 cases of the kyphoscoliosis type have been reported worldwide. About a dozen infants and children with the dermatosparaxis type have been described. The vascular type is also rare; estimates vary widely, but the condition may affect about 1 in 250,000 people.

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