What is Paget’s disease of the bone?
Paget’s disease of the bone is a rare, chronic condition that causes your bones to become brittle and misshapen. Also known as osteitis deformans, the disease may affect your skull, pelvis, spine, collarbones, legs, or arms. Symptoms can be so mild that you don’t know you have the disease, or you may have pain and noticeable bone changes. Medications can help relieve your symptoms and lower your chances of having a fracture.
At the Penn Bone Center and across Penn Medicine, our endocrinologists and other experts understand bone conditions like Paget’s disease of the bone. Our specialists use the latest diagnostic tools and create a treatment plan around your symptoms and needs. We can help slow the disease and manage your pain so you can live your life fully.
Paget’s disease symptoms
You might not have any symptoms of Paget’s disease of the bone. The disease is sometimes found when your doctor takes images or orders blood work to check for another condition. When symptoms do occur, they may include:
- Bone pain, neck pain, or headaches
- Joint pain or stiffness
- Bowing of the legs or other bone abnormalities
- Skull changes or an enlarged head
- Short stature
- Warmth at the site of the affected bone
The disease can lead to complications that may include bone fractures, hearing loss, heart failure, nerve compression in the spine, and elevated levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia). Rarely, people with the disease may develop cancer of the bone (osteosarcoma).
What causes Paget’s disease of the bone?
The disease is caused by an excessive amount of bone breakdown and formation. Your body regularly absorbs old bone and replaces it with new bone. But in Paget’s disease of the bone, your body breaks down more bone than normal and then builds larger, weaker bone in its place. This can happen in only one or two places in your body, or it can be more widespread, affecting several bones.
Doctors don’t know why the disease develops. It’s suspected that genetic factors may be involved. If you have a family member with Paget’s disease of the bone, you have a higher risk of developing it. A viral infection early in life also could be a cause. The disease is more common after age 40 and in people from Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Diagnosing and testing for Paget’s disease
Your doctor may order a blood test that looks at your alkaline phosphatase levels, which are higher if you have the disease. X-rays and bone scans can show skeletal changes triggered by Paget’s disease of the bone. Sometimes doctors take a small sample of bone to confirm that you have the disease or check for other disorders.
Paget’s disease of the bone treatment
If you don’t have symptoms or develop only mild symptoms, you may not need treatment for Paget’s disease of the bone. But if you’re experiencing pain, if the disease is progressing quickly, or if you’re at risk of a fracture or hearing loss, medicines can stop the further breakdown and formation of bone. Drug therapies may be given as a pill, as a nasal spray, as an injection, or through a vein. If you have a serious bone deformity or fracture, surgery might be needed. Some people with Paget’s disease of the bone need joint replacement surgery.
Your partner in tackling bone disease
At Penn Medicine and the Penn Bone Center, our specialists are highly experienced in identifying and managing bone disorders, including Paget’s disease of the bone. We bring together a skilled team of experts from a variety of specialties to provide you with innovative treatments. Your care team may include endocrinologists, radiologists, orthopaedic surgeons, and others.
Paget’s disease of the bone is a chronic disease that needs care over the long term. Our experts track your disease during regular checkups and recommend treatments when needed, so that you can stay engaged in the things you love.