The Relationship Between Primary Lymphedema and Joint Hypermobility

Plain-language summary

Lymphoedema is the swelling of one or several parts of the body owing to lymph accumulation in the extracellular space. It is often chronic, worsens if untreated, predisposes to infections and causes an important reduction in quality of life.Primary lymphoedema (PLE) is thought to result from abnormal development and/or functioning of the lymphatic system, can present in isolation or as part of a syndrome, and can be present at birth or develop later in life. Joint hypermobility ( JH) is a clinical condition characterized an excess range of motion in a joint beyond the physiological range of motion . It is termed generalized joint hypermobilty (GJH) , when the condition is asymptomatic; when it is associated with symptoms such as arthralgia, soft tissue damage, and joint instability, it is referred to as benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) .An increase in the proportion of collagen or collagen subtypes, such as type III/type I has been detected in JH . This abnormal collagen structure causes joint laxity, and fragility of the connective tissue increases. The lymphatic system begins to develop at the end of the fifth gestational week. Lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes develop from the mesoderm. Mesoderm differentiates to form many tissues and structures, including connective tissue, muscle, bone, urogenital and circulatory systems. The relationships between systems developing from the same mesoderm-derived structures (such as carpal tunnel hypermobility, lumbar disc herniation hypermobility, shoulder impigment and adhesive capsulitis hypermobility) and joint hypermobility were examined. There are studies showing that hypermobility may pose a risk for venous insufficiency. In addition, one of the criteria for benign joint hypermobility syndrome is the presence of varicose veins. It has been revealed that the lymphatic system develops embryonicly from the cardinal vein, intersomatic vein and lymphangioblasts. Therefore, the lymphatic system can be considered as a branch of the developmental venous system with endothelial vascular walls. We aimed to investigate the relationship between primary lymphedema and joint hypermobility, as it has not been investigated before in the literature and based on this developmental similarity.

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