Skip to main content
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1981 Dec;40(6):541–546. doi: 10.1136/ard.40.6.541

A clinical and echocardiographic study of patients with the hypermobility syndrome.

R Grahame, J C Edwards, D Pitcher, A Gabell, W Harvey
PMCID: PMC1000826  PMID: 7332373

Abstract

Three age- and symptom-matched groups of patients with a hypermobility score of 5-9, 3-4, and 0-2 (controls), respectively, were examined for clinical and echocardiographic evidence of mitral valve prolapse and other stigmata of a collagen disorder. Mitral valve prolapse, a reduced upper segment/lower segment mitral ratio, reduced skin thickness, spinal anomalies, and a history of fracture were found to be significantly commoner among the hypermobile patients than the controls. The data suggest that the so-called hypermobility syndrome, far from being a benign locomotor disorder of healthy persons, may be a forme fruste of a hereditary disorder of connective tissue.

Full text

PDF
541

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beighton P. H., Horan F. T. Dominant inheritance in familial generalised articular hypermobility. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1970 Feb;52(1):145–147. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beighton P., Horan F. Orthopaedic aspects of the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1969 Aug;51(3):444–453. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beighton P., Solomon L., Soskolne C. L. Articular mobility in an African population. Ann Rheum Dis. 1973 Sep;32(5):413–418. doi: 10.1136/ard.32.5.413. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bonella D., Parker D. J., Davies M. J. Accumulation of procollagen in human floppy mitral valves. Lancet. 1980 Apr 19;1(8173):880–881. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(80)91382-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brandt K. D., Sumner R. D., Ryan T. J., Cohen A. S. Herniation of mitral leaflets in the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Am J Cardiol. 1975 Oct 6;36(4):524–528. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(75)90906-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brown O. R., DeMots H., Kloster F. E., Roberts A., Menashe V. D., Beals R. K. Aortic root dilatation and mitral valve prolapse in Marfan's syndrome: an ECHOCARDIOgraphic study. Circulation. 1975 Oct;52(4):651–657. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.52.4.651. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. CARTER C., SWEETNAM R. Recurrent dislocation of the patella and of the shoulder. Their association with familial joint laxity. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1960 Nov;42-R:721–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cabeen W. R., Jr, Reza M. J., Kovick R. B., Stern M. S. Mitral valve prolapse and conduction defects in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Arch Intern Med. 1977 Sep;137(9):1227–1231. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Davies M. J., Moore B. P., Braimbridge M. V. The floppy mitral valve. Study of incidence, pathology, and complications in surgical, necropsy, and forensic material. Br Heart J. 1978 May;40(5):468–481. doi: 10.1136/hrt.40.5.468. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Grahame R. A method for measuring human skin elasticity in vivo with observations of the effects of age, sex and pregnancy. Clin Sci. 1970 Aug;39(2):223–229. doi: 10.1042/cs0390223. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Grahame R., Beighton P. Physical properties of the skin in the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 1969 May;28(3):246–251. doi: 10.1136/ard.28.3.246. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hancock E. W., Cohn K. The syndrome associated with midsystolic click and late systolic murmur. Am J Med. 1966 Aug;41(2):183–196. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(66)90015-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Horan F. T., Beighton P. H. Recessive inheritance of generalized joint hypermobility. Rheumatol Rehabil. 1973 Feb;12(1):47–49. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/12.1.47. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Howes R. G., Isdale I. C. The loose back: an unrecognized syndrome. Rheumatol Phys Med. 1971 May;11(2):72–77. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/11.2.72. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kirk J. A., Ansell B. M., Bywaters E. G. The hypermobility syndrome. Musculoskeletal complaints associated with generalized joint hypermobility. Ann Rheum Dis. 1967 Sep;26(5):419–425. doi: 10.1136/ard.26.5.419. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Nicholas J. A. Injuries to knee ligaments. Relationship to looseness and tightness in football players. JAMA. 1970 Jun 29;212(13):2236–2239. doi: 10.1001/jama.212.13.2236. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Pocock W. A., Barlow J. B. Etiology and electrocardiographic features of the billowing posterior mitral leaflet syndrome. Analysis of a further 130 patients with a late systolic murmur or nonejection systolic click. Am J Med. 1971 Dec;51(6):731–739. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(71)90301-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Procacci P. M., Savran S. V., Schreiter S. L., Bryson A. L. Prevalence of clinical mitral-valve prolapse in 1169 young women. N Engl J Med. 1976 May 13;294(20):1086–1088. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197605132942004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Scott D., Bird H., Wright V. Joint laxity leading to osteoarthrosis. Rheumatol Rehabil. 1979 Aug;18(3):167–169. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/18.3.167. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. TANNER J. M., WHITEHOUSE R. H. The Harpenden skinfold caliper. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1955 Dec;13(4):743–746. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330130413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wood S. J., Thomas J., Braimbridge M. V. Mitral valve disease and open heart surgery in osteogenesis imperfecta tarda. Br Heart J. 1973 Jan;35(1):103–106. doi: 10.1136/hrt.35.1.103. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES