Paget’s disease: causes, symptoms and treatments

Paget's disease is a bone-related disease. Let's find out better what it is and what are the possible treatments.

Paget's disease of the bone, better known as Paget's disease, is a disease that affects the renewal cycle of bones. Those who suffer from it therefore have a faster than normal bone regeneration . Which makes the bones weaker and softer and, consequently, more exposed to deformities and fractures. In most cases, it tends to present itself with advancing age and never before the age of forty. However, the situation may be different in the case of subjects who are familiar with this disease.

Symptoms of Paget's disease

It can often happen that this disease, especially at the beginning, does not give any symptoms. For this reason, it may not be discovered immediately.

In general, we can say that in most cases, the first symptom that occurs is pain. Going to the most common ones, it is important to pay attention to:

– Constant bone pain, even mild
– Tingling
– Loss of movement
– Pain that runs through the body like a jolt
– Pain in the joints
– Heachache
– Dizziness
– Tinnitus
– Hearing problems
– Deformities of the limbs

In rarer cases, Paget's disease can also cause fragile bones, heart disease, and excessive calcium levels in the blood.

It is also important to keep in mind that this disease can occur both on single bones and on entire areas of the body and this makes the symptoms listed above variable both in extent and in the way they present themselves. Among the most affected areas are usually the legs, shoulders, skull, pelvis and spine.

It is therefore very important to seek medical attention if you experience continuous bone or joint pain or frequent numbness or tingling sensations in any part of the body.
In this way it will be possible to access the tests that are used to check the health of the bones and ascertain or exclude the presence of this disease.

Causes and diagnosis of Paget's disease

To diagnose Paget's disease there are several tests that can be ordered by the doctor on an as-needed basis. Among these are blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging, radiography and bone scintigraphy and in more particular cases bone biopsy, and computed tomography .

The triggering cause of this disease is not yet clear. However, one thinks of a combination of several factors including both genetic and environmental factors. If family members suffer from it, for example, it is much more likely to appear. Other risk factors are age, gender (men are usually more affected than women) and country of origin (this disease has been shown to be more common in Europe).

Then there are complications which, although rare, must be taken into consideration and which concern, precisely, those suffering from this disease. It is in fact possible to encounter fractures or bone deformities, an excess of calcium in the blood , deafness, cardiac arrest and a greater incidence of bone cancer. These are extreme situations and can obviously be monitored by the doctor in order to prevent them from occurring or to find the right treatment in a timely manner.

How to cure Paget's disease

To date, there is still no specific cure for Paget's disease. However, there are therapies that once implemented can alleviate the symptoms. These vary according to the severity, extent of pain and patient history and rely on the use of drugs to treat osteoporosis, painkillers, a targeted diet rich in vitamin D and calcium and, in extreme cases, surgery. Over the years it has also been shown that physiotherapy and learning exercises aimed at improving the ability to move are able to act positively on pain. In some cases, the physiotherapist may also decide to make use of TENS or other techniques aimed at bringing about general improvements.

Going to nutrition , as already mentioned, a healthy and balanced diet is always very important. Among the suggested foods are those rich in calcium and vitamin D such as milk and cheese, leafy vegetables, oily fish and soy-based foods. To this must then be added light exercise and constant exposure to the sun in order to fill up on vitamin D. In some cases, the doctor may decide to prescribe calcium and vitamin D supplements. For the latter, however, it is always necessary to check the blood values ​​first. In case of excess calcium, for example, its introduction is not recommended.

Recognizing the presence of Paget's disease is therefore very important in order to immediately work on the symptoms and to make them less heavy. Added to this is the possibility to try the various remedies and to choose the most suitable ones or to which one responds best in order to improve the quality of life.