What is EDS?

The human body is made up of many kinds of tissue which serve important role in our daily life. Tissues hold the body together, protect the body from inside, enable movement and carry electrical messages from the brain to the rest of the body.

So what happens when connective tissues, including bones and inner layers of skin, don't work the way they should?

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is an inherited genetic disorder which affects body’s connective tissues (tissues which support the skin, bones, blood vessels and other organs) characterized by skin extensibility, joint hypermobility and tissue fragility.

In the past, there were more than 10 recognized types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). In 1997, researchers proposed a simpler classification that reduced the number of major types to 6 and gave them descriptive names as follows:

1.  Arthrochalasia Type

2.  Classic Type

3.  Dermatosparaxis Type

4.  Hypermobility Type

5.  Kyphoscoliosis Type

6.  Vascular Type

Other forms of the condition may exist, but they have been reported only in single families or are not well characterized.