PodcastDX

12/13/2025

12/12/2025

https://academic.oup.com/immunohorizons/article/9/10/vlaf044/8256436?searchresult=1

Autonomic Dysfunction in hEDS: What the New Research Actually Shows

If you live with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, you already know the autonomic system feels chaotic. Your heart jumps when you stand, digestion slows down for no reason, and fatigue hits like a shutdown. For years, this was written off as “anxiety” or “stress sensitivity.” The 2020–2025 research says something completely different.

Screening data from national registries, proteomic studies, and autonomic neurology show that hEDS is not just a “joint problem.” It’s a condition with measurable neurological and immune-matrix dysregulation that directly affects the autonomic nervous system.

What the evidence points to

1. It starts in the connective tissue and the immune system
Recent proteomic work (ImmunoHorizons 2025) found that hEDS patients have reduced levels of core complement proteins like C1QA, C3, C8A, and C9. These proteins help regulate inflammation and mast cells. With complement depletion, mast cells become overactive, which disrupts blood vessel tone and autonomic balance. This provides the first biological mechanism linking hEDS, POTS, and MCAS as one cluster rather than unrelated comorbidities.

2. Vascular laxity affects heart rate and blood pressure regulation
Connective tissue governs the elasticity of blood vessels. In hEDS, the vessels stretch more than they should. When you stand, blood pools instead of returning quickly to the heart. The result is classic POTS physiology: rapid heart rate, dizziness, chest pressure, and cognitive fog.

3. Neuropathy plays a major role
Skin biopsy studies show reduced small fiber nerve density in many hEDS patients. These small fibers control heart rate, sweating, temperature regulation, and gut motility. Damage or loss of these fibers leads to heart rate spikes, heat intolerance, irregular sweating, and dysmotility.

4. It is not caused by psychological anxiety
Multiple cohort studies confirm that over 90 percent of hEDS patients are misdiagnosed with anxiety before they receive their correct diagnosis. The new data explains why: the body produces adrenaline because the autonomic system is malfunctioning, not because the mind is distressed. It’s a physiological adrenaline storm, not a psychological one.

5. The GI system is heavily affected
The American Gastroenterological Association’s 2024 guidance notes that gastroparesis, reflux, constipation, re**al prolapse, and functional GI disorders are common in hEDS due to autonomic imbalance combined with connective tissue laxity. They recommend targeted motility testing, not standard IBS routines.

What this means for people with hEDS

Your autonomic symptoms are real and measurable.
They have identifiable biological pathways.
And they consistently show up across cardiovascular, neurological, and gastrointestinal systems.

This is not “just hypermobility.” It is a multisystem connective tissue and neuro-immune condition with a predictable autonomic signature.

If these symptoms describe your daily life, you are not imagining them. You are experiencing a documented pattern that science is only now catching up with.

If you live with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, you already know the autonomic system feels chaotic. Your heart jumps when you stand, your digestion slows down for no reason, and fatigue hits like a shutdown. For years, this was written off as “anxiety” or “stress sensitivity.” The 2020–2025 research says something completely different.

12/12/2025

12/12/2025

12/08/2025

12/06/2025

564.2K likes, 6754 comments. “now you're all cardiologists”

12/06/2025

We’re Proud of You, Temple!
We are thrilled to share that Dr. Temple Grandin has been honored with the Portrait of a Nation Award for her incredible contributions to animal science, autism advocacy, and education.

Her newly unveiled portrait, titled "Brocken Spectre and Glory: Portrait of Temple Grandin", by artist David Lenz, will be on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery from November 14, 2025 – October 25, 2026, before joining the museum’s permanent collection.
This award celebrates Americans of remarkable character and achievement—and Dr. Grandin truly embodies that spirit!

12/05/2025

💜 Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities 💜

▪️Friendly reminder that not all disabilities are visible. The majority of people with disabilities have invisible conditions

▪️ Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Disabilities can be present from birth or can be acquired during a person's lifetime. Historically, disabilities have only been recognized based on a narrow set of criteria. However, disabilities are not binary and can present unique characteristics depending on the individual. A disability may be readily visible or be completely invisible.

▪️ The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines disability as: a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which interaction with various barriers may hinder a person's full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others

▪️ In the U.S. approximately 1/5 of the US population has a disability

▪️ in 2012, the World Health Organization estimated a world population of 6.5 billion people living with a disability. About 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability, of whom 2-4% experience significant difficulties in functioning. The global disability prevalence is higher than previous WHO estimates, which date from the 1970s and suggested a figure of around 10%. This global estimate for disability is on the rise due to population ageing and the rapid spread of chronic diseases, as well as improvements in the methodologies used to measure disability.

12/05/2025

Who can relate?

12/03/2025