Paget's disease

Category: Illness or disabilities

Type

Involuntary

Introduction and description

 

Paget's disease - also termed osteitis deformans is a chronic disorder that can result in enlarged and misshapen bones.Paget's is characterised by the excessive breakdown and formation of bone, followed by disorganized bone remodeling. This causes affected bone to weaken, resulting in pain, misshapen bones, fractures and arthritis in the joints near the affected bones. Rarely, it can develop into a primary bone cancer known as Paget's sarcoma.  Often Paget's disease is localized to only a few bones in the body.

Symptoms

Overall, the most common symptom is bone pain. Loss of hearing in one or both ears may occur when Paget's disease affects the skull and the bone that surrounds the inner ear. 

Cause

Paget's disease is thought to be caused by a slow virus infection.  Work is still ongoing as to which one or ones but candidates include the paramyxoviridae, respiratory syncytial virus, canine distemper virus, and the measles virus. These are latent viruses