Causes. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is caused by genetic mutations. The diseases are caused by both recessive and dominant genes. In a dominant genetic disease, only one copy of the mutated gene needs to be passed down. In a recessive genetic disease, the patient needs to inherit genes from both parents. Both males and females have the same risk whether the disease is dominant or recessive. In some cases, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is the result of a spontaneous mutation in either the mother’s egg or the father’s sperm. There are many genes whose mutations contribute to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but all of them have something to do with collagen.
