Connective Tissue Disorders in Women

Connective tissue disorders describe diseases affecting the fascia and are now understood to encompass both genetic and autoimmune causes. Although the diseases have divergent mechanisms, the term is still commonly used and found in the name of some diseases such as “mixed connective tissue disorder.” Of the genetic disorders such as Marfan syndrome or Loeys-Dietz syndrome, some of the causative genes have been identified and mechanisms well explored. Other disorders such as fibromuscular dysplasia remain important clinically without clearly known genetic mechanisms. Depending on the mode of inheritance, each one of the genetic diseases has different proportion of women affected. Connective tissue disorders with autoimmune etiologies, i.e. autoimmune diseases, are common affecting millions of people within the United States and known to injure most organs in the body ranging from skin to kidney to heart to nervous system.