Fascia is composed of collagenous connective tissue surrounding and interpenetrating skeletal muscle, joints, organs, nerves, and vascular beds. Fascial tissue forms a whole-body, continuous three-dimensional viscoelastic matrix of structural support. The classical concept of its mere passive role in force transmission has recently been disproven. Fascial tissue contains contractile elements en...

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a heterogeneous connective tissue condition characterized by varying degrees of skin hyperextensibility, joint hypermobility, and vascular fragility. Joint dislocations, musculoskeletal pain, atrophic scars, easy bleeding, vessel/viscera rupture, severe scoliosis, and obstetric complications may occur. These manifestations are secondary to abnormal collagen, with speci...

INTRODUCTION Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, which is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. High numbers of people are still affected by this disease in some of the developing countries however, it is rarely seen in non-endemic regions. Cutaneous and neurological manifestations are the common and classical presentations of leprosy. Musculoskeletal involvement is the third most ...

behçet’s disease (bd) which is classified among vasculitides is a systemic disease with various manifestations. its clinical course is characterized by attacks and remissions. till now, two nationwide surveys of bd from iran and japan and 4 major case series from turkey, korea, morocco and england have been reported. clinical picture of bd is dominated by mucous membrane manifestations, includi...

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare, inherited metabolic bone disease resulting from mutations in the gene encoding tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase. The biochemical hallmark and key diagnostic indicator is low alkaline phosphatase activity, which leads to a variety of clinical manifestations across all ages. The diagnosis is easily missed in adults, who frequently present with nonspecific...

Relapsing polychondritis is a rare childhood disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by inflammatory, recurrent and destructive cartilage lesions. The chondritis could be widespread and involves generally laryngeal and auricular hyaline cartilages. We described a 9 years and 4 months old girl, who presented recurrent acute laryngotracheitis and laryngotracheal stenosis, which were the first...

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a neuropathic pain disorder that is characterized by: 1) Severe pain beyond the area of injury; 2) Autonomic dysregulation; 3) Neuropathic edema; 4) A movement disorder, atrophy and dystrophy. It is most often caused by a fracture, soft-tissue injury or surgical procedure and is divided into Type I, in which no nerve lesion is identified (classic reflex ...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by heterogeneous clinical manifestations involving virtually the entire body. The pain in SLE can have different causes. The SLE classification criteria include mainly the musculoskeletal manifestations of pain, which are commonly reported as initial symptoms of SLE, such as arthralgia, arthritis and/or myalgia. Chronic w...

Marfan syndrome is a connective tissue disorder with ocular, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular manifestations that are caused by mutations in fibrillin-1, the major constituent of extracellular microfibrils. Mouse models of Marfan syndrome have revealed that fibrillin-1 mutations perturb local TGFbeta signaling, in addition to impairing tissue integrity. This discovery has led to the identific...

The hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is likely the most common hereditary disorder of connective tissue. It has been described largely in those with musculoskeletal complaints including joint hypermobility, joint subluxations/dislocations, as well as skin and soft tissue manifestations. Many patients report activity-related pain and some go on to have daily pain. Two undifferen...