Along with these general signs and side effects, patients can have trouble healing.Women who are pregnant should be warned about things such as pre-labor rupture of membranes, drop in blood pressure with anesthesia, precipitate birth (very fast, active labor), malposition of bleeding, and more. New mothers with hEDS should pay extra attention to taking care of their babies. Mothers may have trouble taking care of babies because of the risk of dropping a baby due to weak connective tissue in arms and legs, falling, postpartum depression (more than the general population), and healing from the birthing process. Genetics of Hypermobile EDS
While 12 of the 13 subtypes of EDS have genetic variations that can be tested for by genetic testing, there is no known genetic cause of hEDS. Despite the unknown gene, hEDS appears to follow an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. This means that in order to be affected, a person needs a mutation in only one copy of the responsible gene in each cell. This mutation can be inherited from a parent or a de novo (new) mutation. A person with hEDS has a 50% chance of passing their mutated gene on to their children.Recently, several labs and research initiatives have been attempting to uncover a potential hEDS gene. In 2018, the Ehlers–Danlos Society began the Hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos Genetic Evaluation (HEDGE) study. The ongoing study has screened over 1,000 people who have been diagnosed with hEDS by the 2017 criteria to evaluate their genome for a common mutation.
Epidemiology
Ehlers–Danlos syndromes are estimated to occur in about one in 5,000 births worldwide. Initially, prevalence estimates ranged from one in 250,000 to 500,000 people, but these were soon found to be low, as medical professionals became more adept at diagnosis. EDS may be far more common than the currently accepted estimate due to the wide range of severities with which the disorder presents.The prevalence of the disorders differs dramatically. The most common is hypermobile EDS, followed by classical EDS. The others are very rare. For example, fewer than 10 infants and children with dermatosparaxis EDS have been described worldwide. Some types of EDS are more common in Ashkenazi Jews. For example, the chance of being a carrier for dermatosparaxis EDS is one in 2,000 in the general population but one in 248 among Ashkenazi Jews. History
Until 1997, the classification system for EDS included 10 specific types and acknowledged that other extremely rare types existed. At this time, the classification system underwent an overhaul and was reduced to six major types using descriptive titles. Genetic specialists recognize that other types of this condition exist, but have only been documented in single families. Except for hypermobility (type 3), the most common type of all 10 types, some of the specific variations involved have been identified, and they can be precisely identified by genetic testing; this is valuable due to a great deal of variation in individual cases.