Headaches are common in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (lax ligaments, loose joints, etc)

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of inherited disorders that are notable for excessive joint mobility with some people also having lax or stretchy skin, at times heart problems, and other symptoms. Headaches appear to be also very common.

We see Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in many of our migraine patients and most of our headache specialist colleagues also notice this association. However, there are very few studies that confirm this observation. One such study was recently presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American Headache Society in Washington, DC. The research was performed at a cardiology clinic in Texas. They looked at the records of 139 patients who were referred to this clinic in a period of one year. Of these 139 patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, 90% were women and the average age was 32. Out of 139 patients, 70% suffered from headaches – 32% had tension-type, 26% had migraines, 9% had chronic migraines and 2% had sinus headaches. These numbers are much higher than what is seen in the general population, confirming clinical observations by headache specialists.

One form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome affects not only joints and ligaments, but also the heart. So, when see a migraine patients who also appears to have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, we also ask about symptoms related to the heart and if they are present refer such patients to a cardiologist.

Another presentation at the same meeting described a 23-year-old woman with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome who suddenly developed headaches that would worsen on standing up and improve on lying down. This is typical of headaches due to low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure, which was confirmed by a spinal tap. The most common causes of low CSF pressure are a leak caused by a spinal tap done to diagnose a neurological disease or caused by a complication of epidural anesthesia. Spontaneous unprovoked leaks have also been reported. In this patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome the leak probably occurred because of the lax ligaments that surround the spinal canal and contain the CSF. The report describes the most accurate test to document such leaks, which is an MRI myelogram.

The treatment of CSF leaks begins with a blood patch procedure, but if it is ineffective, surgery is sometimes done to repair the leak. A recent report suggested that Botox could be effective for low spinal fluid pressure headaches.