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A child presents with soft, velvety, hyperextensible skin that bruises easily. She has "cigarette paper" scars from minor trauma. Joint hypermobility is present.

AD; COL5A1 or COL5A2 (type V collagen) - most common

  • Also rare: COL1A1
  • Marked skin hyperextensibility
  • Atrophic "cigarette paper" scars (papyraceous scarring)
  • Joint hypermobility
  • Easy bruising
  • Soft, doughy skin texture
  • Molluscoid pseudotumors, subcutaneous spheroids
  • Clinical + confirmatory genetic testing
  • Skin protection and meticulous wound closure (low-tension sutures, prolonged support of healing scars)
  • Joint protection, low-resistance physical therapy, bracing for hypermobility
  • Baseline echocardiogram to screen for aortic root dilation
  • Cardiology and orthopedic referral as needed

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome = Extensibility of skin, ligamentous laxity (Dan = "dangling" joints), Skin involvement: LOOSE connective tissues.

This table maps COL gene types to their associated prototypical collagen disorders and useful memory devices.

Collagen gene-disorder table: COL1A1/A2 (OI), COL2A1 (Stickler), COL3A1 (vascular EDS), COL4A3-5 (Alport), COL5A1/A2 (classic EDS), COL7A1 (dystrophic EB), and the "Collagen Man" figure
Collagen gene-disorder table: COL1A1/A2 (OI), COL2A1 (Stickler), COL3A1 (vascular EDS), COL4A3-5 (Alport), COL5A1/A2 (classic EDS), COL7A1 (dystrophic EB), and the "Collagen Man" figure