Clair A. Francomano – författare

**Selected for 2026 Doody's Core Titles in Rheumatology**Symptomatic: The Symptom-Based Handbook for Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders offers a novel approach to the subject, structured around the panoply of symptoms those with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders may describe to their clinicians. The content is arranged intuitively from head to feet. Each chapter integrates a clinical case study with a concise discussion and two important tools: a simplified algorithm for diagnosing and managing each symptom; and differential diagnoses (i.e. alternative explanations) for the symptoms. Combining the expertise of some 70 leading clinicians representing more than 30 specialties, the content is suited for clinicians who need a concise presentation of the various and complex symptoms they confront in their practice. It also aims to inform and empower patients, helping them understand the nature of these concerns and their management. This handbook advances an integrative understanding of this emerging interdisciplinary field, bridging the gaps between the several dozen specialties germane to EDS and HSD.

This book is being planned as a tribute to Dr. Victor A. McKusick (1921-2008), who is well known as the “father of medical genetics”. He was long associated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, first as a student in the 1940s, and later as a faculty member, becoming the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins. He was a co-founder of GENOMICS and founder and lifelong editor of Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a massive compendium of human syndromes and genetic variants. Dr. McKusick made distinguished contributions to all branches of medical genetics. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and many other academies in the world. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2002. He received many other honors including several honorary doctorates. 

The proposed book will reflect all the fields touched upon by Dr. McKusick’s contributions. It will be a valuable source of the latest progress in medical genetics. The contributors are internationally distinguished in their chosen specialties. Besides professional distinction, they are being selected because of their past association with Dr. McKusick, as former students or colleagues who extended his research in some fashion.

The proposed book will reflect all the fields touched upon by Dr. McKusick’s contributions. It will be a valuable source of the latest progress in medical genetics. The contributors are internationally distinguished in their chosen specialties. Besides professional distinction, they are being selected because of their past association with Dr. McKusick, as former students or colleagues who extended his research in some fashion.