[Erosive disk diseases of chronic hemodialysis patients. 3 cases of cervical localization]

The authors report three new cases of erosive disk disease in chronically hemodialysed patients. The cases included one man and two women, who were diagnosed, on the basis of cervical or shoulder pain, as having spinal injuries involving pinched disks, punched-out lesions and incipient condensation. Discal puncture was carried out in only one patient, and proved futile. All three patients were followed-up for periods of at least one year. These three cases raise the problem of erosive disk disease in long-term dialysis patients; several other cases have been reported recently. The etiology remains obscure, but the part played by amylosis, by apatite microcrystals and by the duration of dialysis treatment are all discussed. It would appear that a novel disease entity is indeed involved, one for which, although several etiologic factors can be suggested, it has not been possible to definitely identify any single cause as the exclusive origin of the lesions detected.