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In season 2 of the USA Network series Royal Pains, Reshma Shetty (as Divya Katdare) diagnoses a storm chaser (Jamie Ray Newman) with recurring fractures to have tumor-induced osteomalacia.
Radiation therapy subsequent to the injury or as a preventive measure of recurrence may be applied but its usefulness is inconclusive. If the surgery performed next step in accordance with literature postoperative single low-dose radiation with 3 weeks of oral indomethacin regimen will be preventive for recurrence.
The only effective line of treatment for malignant infantile osteopetrosis is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It has been shown to provide long-term disease-free periods for a significant percentage of those treated; can impact both hematologic and skeletal abnormalities; and has been used successfully to reverse the associated skeletal abnormalities.
Radiographs of at least one case with malignant infantile osteopetrosis have demonstrated bone remodeling and recanalization of medullar canals following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This favorable radiographic response could be expected within one year following the procedure - nevertheless, primary graft failure can prove fatal.
Treatment is initially conservative, as some patients' calcifications will spontaneously be reabsorbed, and others will have minimal symptoms. In occasional cases, surgical debridement of the abnormal tissue is required, although success of such therapy is limited.
Treatment of myositis ossificans:
- Rest
- Reduction
- Immobilization
- Anti-inflammatory drugs
- Physiotherapy management
Resection of the tumor is the ideal treatment and results in correction of hypophosphatemia (and low calcitriol levels) within hours of resection. Resolution of skeletal abnormalities may take many months.
If the tumor cannot be located, treatment with calcitriol (1-3 µg/day) and phosphorus (1-4 g/day in divided doses) is instituted. Tumors which secrete somatostatin receptors may respond to treatment with octreotide. If hypophosphatemia persists despite calcitriol and phosphate supplementation, administration of cinacalcet has been shown to be useful
The medication(s) listed below have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as orphan products for treatment of this condition. Learn more orphan products.
Oral phosphate, 9, calcitriol, 9; in the event of severe bowing, an osteotomy may be performed to correct the leg shape.
The gene NT5E is related to the gene ENPP1, which when mutated is known to cause arterial calcification in infants. Treatments for the ENPP1 mutation, such as bisphosphonates, which are similar to phosphatase, and adenosine reuptake inhibitors, provide possible routes of treatment for the NT5E mutation, as the mechanism of both disorders are very similar.
Treatment is symptomatic, often addressing indicators associated with peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis. Laryngotracheal calcification resulting in dyspnea and forceful breathing can be treated with bronchodilators including the short and long-acting β2-agonists, and various anticholinergics. Prognosis is good, yet life expectancy depends on the severity and extent of diffuse pulmonary and arterial calcification.
The cause of the rare condition of tumoral calcinosis is not entirely understood. It is generally characterized by large, globular calcifications near joints.
As of October 2015, asfotase alfa (Strensiq) has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of hypophosphatasia. Current management consists of palliating symptoms, maintaining calcium balance and applying physical, occupational, dental and orthopedic interventions, as necessary.
- Hypercalcemia in infants may require restriction of dietary calcium or administration of calciuretics. This should be done carefully so as not to increase the skeletal demineralization that results from the disease itself. Vitamin D sterols and mineral supplements, traditionally used for rickets or osteomalacia, should not be used unless there is a deficiency, as blood levels of calcium ions (Ca2+), inorganic phosphate (Pi) and vitamin D metabolites usually are not reduced.
- Craniosynostosis, the premature closure of skull sutures, may cause intracranial hypertension and may require neurosurgical intervention to avoid brain damage in infants.
- Bony deformities and fractures are complicated by the lack of mineralization and impaired skeletal growth in these patients. Fractures and corrective osteotomies (bone cutting) can heal, but healing may be delayed and require prolonged casting or stabilization with orthopedic hardware. A load-sharing intramedullary nail or rod is the best surgical treatment for complete fractures, symptomatic pseudofractures, and progressive asymptomatic pseudofractures in adult hypophosphatasia patients.
- Dental problems: Children particularly benefit from skilled dental care, as early tooth loss can cause malnutrition and inhibit speech development. Dentures may ultimately be needed. Dentists should carefully monitor patients’ dental hygiene and use prophylactic programs to avoid deteriorating health and periodontal disease.
- Physical Impairments and pain: Rickets and bone weakness associated with hypophosphatasia can restrict or eliminate ambulation, impair functional endurance, and diminish ability to perform activities of daily living. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may improve pain-associated physical impairment and can help improve walking distance]
- Bisphosphonate (a pyrophosphate synthetic analog) in one infant had no discernible effect on the skeleton, and the infant’s disease progressed until death at 14 months of age.
- Bone marrow cell transplantation in two severely affected infants produced radiographic and clinical improvement, although the mechanism of efficacy is not fully understood and significant morbidity persisted.
- Enzyme replacement therapy with normal, or ALP-rich serum from patients with Paget’s bone disease, was not beneficial.
- Phase 2 clinical trials of bone targeted enzyme-replacement therapy for the treatment of hypophosphatasia in infants and juveniles have been completed, and a phase 2 study in adults is ongoing.
Axial osteomalacia is a rare osteosclerotic disorder characterized by axial skeleton pain, coarsening of the trabecular bone pattern on radiographs of the axial but not appendicular skeleton.
Treatment for renal osteodystrophy includes the following:
- calcium and/or native vitamin D supplementation
- restriction of dietary phosphate (especially inorganic phosphate contained in additives)
- phosphate binders such as calcium carbonate, calcium acetate, sevelamer hydrochloride or carbonate, lanthanum carbonate, sucroferric oxyhydroxide, ferric citrate among others
- active forms of vitamin D (calcitriol, alfacalcidol, paricalcitol, maxacalcitol, doxercalciferol, among others)
- cinacalcet
- renal transplantation
- haemodialysis five times a week is thought to be of benefit
- parathyroidectomy for symptomatic medication refractive end stage disease
Men and women are affected in equal number., reflecting the fact that osteopoikilosis attacks indiscriminately. Additionally, the disease is often associated with melorheostosis, despite the apparent lack of correlation between melorheostosis and genetic heritability. It has been tied to LEMD3. Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome is a similar condition, which is also associated with LEMD3.
Arterial calcification due to deficiency of CD73 (ACDC) is a rare genetic disorder that causes calcium buildup in the arteries and joints of the hands and feet, and other areas below the waist. Although patients exhibiting these symptoms have been identified as early as 1914, this disorder had not been studied extensively until recently. The identification of the specific ACDC gene and mutations occurred in 2011. ACDC is caused by a mutation in the NT5E gene, which prevents calcium-removing agents from functioning. Patients afflicted with this mutation suffer from chronic pain, difficulty moving, and increased risk of cardiovascular problems. In experiments at the molecular level, treatment with adenosine or a phosphatase inhibitor reversed and prevented calcification, suggesting they could be used as possible treatment methods. There is currently no cure for ACDC, and patients have limited treatment options which focus primarily on removal of blood calcium and improving mobility.
The prevalence of Mönckeberg's arteriosclerosis increases with age and is more frequent in diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic inflammatory conditions, hypervitaminosis D and rare genetic disorders, such as Keutel syndrome. The prevalence of Monckeberg's arteriosclerosis in the general population has been estimated as 1.5; however the validity of this criterion is questionable.
Treatment may involve surgery, which is currently the only recommended intervention. Surgery should include the removal of even small nodules, to prevent the recurrence of the scrotal calcinosis.
Recovery from renal osteodystrophy has been observed following kidney transplantation. Renal osteodystrophy is a chronic condition with a conventional hemodialysis schedule. Nevertheless, it is important to consider that the broader concept of CKD-MBD, which includes renal osteodystrophy, is not only associated with bone disease and increased risk of fractures but also with cardiovascular calcification, poor quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality in CKD patients (the so-called bone-vascular axis). Actually, bone may now be considered a new endocrine organ at the heart of CKD-MBD.
Metastatic calcification involves a systemic calcium excess imbalance, which can be caused by hypercalcemia, kidney failure, milk-alkali syndrome, lack or excess of other minerals, or other causes.
Dystrophic calcification (DC) is the calcification occurring in degenerated or necrotic tissue, as in hyalinized scars, degenerated foci in leiomyomas, and caseous nodules. This occurs as a reaction to tissue damage, including as a consequence of medical device implantation. Dystrophic calcification can occur even if the amount of calcium in the blood is not elevated. (A systemic mineral imbalance would elevate calcium levels in the blood and all tissues and cause metastatic calcification.) Basophilic calcium salt deposits aggregate, first in the mitochondria, and progressively throughout the cell. These calcifications are an indication of previous microscopic cell injury. It occurs in areas of cell necrosis in which activated phosphatases bind calcium ions to phospholipids in the membrane.
Calcification can occur in dead or degenerated tissue.
Osteoporosis is due to causal factors like atrophy of disuse and gonadal deficiency. Hence osteoporosis is common in post menopausal women and in men above 50 yrs. Hypercorticism may also be causal factor, as osteoporosis may be seen as a feature of Cushing's syndrome.
There is no cure, although curative therapy with bone marrow transplantion is being investigated in clinical trials. It is believed the healthy marrow will provide the sufferer with cells from which osteoclasts will develop. If complications occur in children, patients can be treated with vitamin D. Gamma interferon has also been shown to be effective, and it can be associated to vitamin D. Erythropoetin has been used to treat any associated anemia. Corticosteroids may alleviate both the anemia and stimulate bone resorption. Fractures and osteomyelitis can be treated as usual. Treatment for osteopetrosis depends on the specific symptoms present and the severity in each person. Therefore, treatment options must be evaluated on an individual basis. Nutritional support is important to improve growth and it also enhances responsiveness to other treatment options. A calcium-deficient diet has been beneficial for some affected people.
Treatment is necessary for the infantile form:
- Vitamin D (calcitriol) appears to stimulate dormant osteoclasts, which stimulates bone resorption
- Gamma interferon can have long-term benefits. It improves white blood cell function (leading to fewer infections), decreases bone volume, and increases bone marrow volume.
- Erythropoietin can be used for anemia, and corticosteroids can be used for anemia and to stimulate bone resorption.
Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) improves some cases of severe, infantile osteopetrosis associated with bone marrow failure, and offers the best chance of longer-term survival for individuals with this type.
In pediatric (childhood) osteopetrosis, surgery is sometimes needed because of fractures. Adult osteopetrosis typically does not require treatment, but complications of the condition may require intervention. Surgery may be needed for aesthetic or functional reasons (such as multiple fractures, deformity, and loss of function), or for severe degenerative joint disease.
The long-term-outlook for people with osteopetrosis depends on the subtype and the severity of the condition in each person.The severe infantile forms of osteopetrosis are associated with shortened life expectancy, with most untreated children not surviving past their first decade. seems to have cured some infants with early-onset disease. However, the long-term prognosis after transplantation is unknown. For those with onset in childhood or adolescence, the effect of the condition depends on the specific symptoms (including how fragile the bones are and how much pain is present). Life expectancy in the adult-onset forms is normal.
More than 1 in 2 people with OI also have dentinogenesis imperfecta (DI) - a congenital disorder of formation of dentine. Dental treatment may pose as a challenge as a result of the various deformities, skeletal and dental, due to OI. Children with OI should go for a dental check-up as soon as their teeth erupt, this may minimize tooth structure loss as a result of abnormal dentine, and they should be monitored regularly to preserve their teeth and oral health.
Malignant infantile osteopetrosis, also known as infantile autosomal recessive osteopetrosis or simply infantile osteopetrosis is a rare osteosclerosing type of skeletal dysplasia that typically presents in infancy and is characterized by a unique radiographic appearance of generalized hyperostosis - excessive growth of bone.
The generalized increase in bone density has a special predilection to involve the medullary portion with relative sparing of the cortices. Obliteration of bone marrow spaces and subsequent depression of the cellular function can result in serious hematologic complications. Optic atrophy and cranial nerve damage secondary to bony expansion can result in marked morbidity. The prognosis is extremely poor in untreated cases. Plain radiography provides the key information to the diagnosis. Clinical and radiologic correlations are also fundamental to the diagnostic process, with additional gene testing being confirmatory.
Prevention of osteomalacia rests on having an adequate intake of vitamin D and calcium. Vitamin D3 Supplementation is often needed due to the scarcity of Vitamin D sources in the modern diet.