Bones in your body continuously break down and form again in a natural and tightly balanced process called bone re-modelling.
This bone re-modelling also occurs in response to stress or injury placed on the bone. For example, weight-bearing exercise leads to increased bone formation.
In Paget’s disease, more bone breaks down than usual and more new bone forms than usual.
These changes in the bone can lead to bone enlargement and deformity.
The new bone growth tends to be softer and more fragile than normal bone, and can develop in a haphazard pattern.
Because of this, the bone can fracture.
The long bones, especially the legs, tend to bow, and the skull may enlarge, particularly over the forehead.
Harvard health publications
Hence Pagets disease is a long term bone disorder causing the bone not to develop properly resulting in large misshapen abnormal, less dense, brittle, prone to breakage, fractured bone.
The method the way the bone grows is affected and causing an increase in calcium levels in the blood that can lead to osteoporosis.
It can occur anywhere in the body and symptoms depend on where affected.
Common areas include spine, thigh bone, pelvis, collarbone, upper arm bone and skull.
Symptoms do not always appear until an x-ray and/or blood test is done
Mainly older people get the condition though a rare child condition called Juvenile Paget’s Diseasecan also occur
Paget disease can also affect the nipple and is associated with breast cancer.
Cause
Unknown, maybe:
Viral condition
Source: http://www.paget.org.uk
Source: http://www.thehorrorzine.com
Source: http://www.aboutcancer.com
Symptoms
Bone pain (especially in the back, hips and knees)?
Bone deformity [bowing of the thighs (femurs) and lower legs (tibias)]?
Big bones (including head) and/or bone growth (spur) causing tingling and numbness locally?
Oculo-dento-digital dysplasia (overgrowth of lower jaw, excessive thickening of bone tissue in the skull, an abnormally wide collarbone, and calcium deposits in the lobes of the ear)
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Pagets Disease (Osteitis Deformans) in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
The Pharmaceutical Journal covers analysis, features, opinion, learning and careers articles, providing insight and knowledge about drugs, pharmacy practice, medicines use and healthcare policy in the context of the pharmacy profession and pharmaceutical science.