[Ehlers-Danlos-Syndrome. Heterogeneity and molecular causes of the disease picture].

Progress in the experimental field and a deepened understanding of biological functional entities gave considerable impetus to connective tissue research. This was particularly true for the heritable connective tissue disorders, of which the Ehlers-Danlos-Syndrome is the best example. Its clinical and biochemical heterogeneity have allowed a classification of the disease into sub-groups, and the conditions for differential diagnosis and therapeutic trials were thus improved.