[Paget disease of the skeleton. Internal medicine aspects]

Paget's disease of bone seems to be a slow virus infection of a single or several areas of the skeleton. Pagetic lesions are rather common among elderly people, but the disease does not manifest itself very often. Compared to the incidence of Paget's disease in England it seems to be rarer in this country. The pelvis is most frequently involved, followed by bones of the leg, skull, lumbar spine. The patients suffer from pain and deformities, arthroses of the adhering ankles, increased temperature of the area, nerve irritation and nerve damage due to increased bone growth (e.g. hearing loss due to Paget's disease of the skull). The development of sarcoma is rare and is only seen in severe cases. Diagnosis is made by X-ray, confirmed by bone biopsy, if necessary. Asymptomatic lesions are detected by bone scintigraphy. The activity of the disease is expressed by increased alkaline serum phosphatase and urinary hydroxyproline excretion. For treatment calcitonins and diphosphonates (especially EHDP, Diphos) are used. Both inhibit the overactive osteoclasts, and the increased bone turnover is normalized. The patients feel considerable relief; the elevated biochemical parameters fall to about 50% of initial values after calcitonin or EHDP monotherapy. In severe cases the combination of both substances may be profitable. The cytostatic drug mithramycin which can also be effective is only needed in exceptional cases.