#invisibledisabilities - Part 1

Here is some invisible disabilities that we learnt a bit about on our #invisibledisabilities day!

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) - ME is recognised as a neurological illness by the World Health Organisation. It is a real, often relapsing, debilitating illness, affecting up to 150,000 people in the UK, with similar rates of incidence in Europe, USA, New Zealand and Australia. More Info.

Hypermobility Syndrome (HMS) - Connective tissue proteins such as collagen give the body its intrinsic toughness. When they are differently formed, the results are mainly felt in the "moving parts" - the joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments - which are laxer and more fragile than is the case for most people. The result is joint laxity with hypermobility and with it comes vulnerability to the effects of injury. More Info.

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) - Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) encompasses several types of inherited connective tissue disorders. Connective tissue provides support to parts of the body such as the skin and muscles, but in EDS the collagen that gives strength and elasticity to connective tissue is faulty. This results in hyperelastic skin that's fragile and bruises easily, excessive looseness of the joints, blood vessels that are easily damaged and, rarely, rupture of internal organs. There are six major types of EDS, categorised according to signs and symptoms, and the condition can range from mild to life-threatening. More Info.

Mitochondrial Disease - Mitochondrial myopathies are a group of neuromuscular diseases caused by damage to the mitochondria-small, energy-producing structures that serve as the cells' "power plants." Nerve cells in the brain and muscles require a great deal of energy, and thus appear to be particularly damaged when mitochondrial dysfunction occurs. More Info.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS, also postural tachycardia syndrome) - A condition of dysautonomia , to be more specific orthostatic intolerance, in which a change from the supine position to an upright position causes an abnormally large increase in heart rate, called tachycardia.More Info.

Brittle bone disease (osteogenesis imperfecta) - Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is the most common disease causing fractures in childhood. It also causes fractures in adults. OI is a genetic disorder usually resulting from abnormalities of the genes, which control the production of a protein called collagen. This is the main protein in bone and essential for its strength. The fragility of bone in OI is due to the collagen problems. It has nothing to do with the calcium part of bone, which is what shows up on X-rays. More Info.

These are just some of the Invisible disabilities we have learnt about - stay tuned for info on more, coming soon!