An 11-year-old boy had a history of easy bruising and poorly healing wounds since infancy and severe, early-onset periodontitis. He also exhibited mild hypermobility of the small joints of the hands, long limbs with striking arachnodactyly, and a triangular face with delicate features. Analysis of type I and type III collagens revealed no abnormalities. These findings were consistent with a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome typeVIII (EDS-VIII), an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder that was recently mapped to chromosome 12q13. We draw attention to the clinical features that typify EDS-VIII, including extensive pretibial bruising, a marfanoid body habitus, and characteristic facies, as well as childhood onset of progressive periodontal disease.
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