Familial Occurrence of Spontaneous Spinal CSF Leaks: Underlying Connective Tissue Disorder (CME)

Two sisters developed spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks from meningeal diverticula. Both had recurrences from non diverticular sites. Both patients, a sister, and their mother had joint hypermobility and there was a strong family history of thoracic and abdominal aorta aneurysms. To my knowledge, this is the first report of familial occurrence of CSF leaks. It also points to the role of a pre-existing dural weakness, likely related to a disorder of connective tissue matrix.