What're the complications of Paget's disease of the bone?
Osteoarthritis. Paget's disease can damage the bone around a joint. This can cause the cartilage in the joint to weaken and break down, which leads to arthritis. Many people feel low back pain before they are diagnosed with Paget's disease and osteoarthritis. If the disease reaches to the end of the bone, it can lead to arthritis in the joint. This is the same as
osteoarthritis, and can cause pain and stiffness on moving the joint.
Fractures: Broken bones are most common in long bones or bones that hold up the weight of the body, such as the thighbone (femur), the forearm, or the back (spine). Broken long bones can be very serious and lead to severe bleeding. Small breaks may cause pain that is made worse when walking or lifting objects.
Nerve compression: Paget's disease can affect bone growth in the skull or spine, causing pressure on a nerve. In addition, Paget's disease can damage the tiny bones in the ear, leading to hearing loss. When Pagetic bone expands it can sometimes squeeze nearby nerves. This can happen in the skull, where it can cause deafness, or in the spine, which can lead to weakness and tingling in the legs.
Heart failure: Bone tissue contains many blood vessels. Paget's disease causes increased blood flow to the bones, and sometimes it is difficult for the heart to keep up with the increased blood flow demands. This can lead to heart failure. When the Paget's disease is very extensive the increased blood flow through the bone can put a strain on the heart. Fortunately, with the newer, more effective treatments for Paget's this complication is rarely seen nowadays.
Bone cancer (osteogenic sarcoma): In a very small number of people with longstanding Paget's disease tumours may develop in the bone, which can sometimes be cancerous. The first signs of this are increased pain and swelling at the site of the tumour. Fortunately this is a very rare complication.This is a rare but serious complication of Paget's disease. Bone sarcoma occurs in less than 1% of people with Paget's disease.1 Severe bone pain and swelling of tissue around the bone are the most common symptoms of bone sarcoma.
People with Paget's disease often develop kidney stones and/or calcium deposits in blood vessels and heart valves. These problems are due to increased calcium in the body from the faster-than-normal breakdown of bone tissue. |
