Causes Of Osteolysis

September 26, 2023

Osteolysis causes bones to wear faster and become thinner. Risks for getting osteolysis include bone growths, cysts, and bone cancer. Joint prosthetics, which are a part of bone replacement treatments, can also prevent the body from creating new bone. Other risks that may result in this condition are arthritis, infections, and gum disease, all of which can bring about bone loss. An osteolysis diagnosis may come as a result of a bone biopsy, a CT scan, an x-ray, an MRI, or a PET scan. Start reading to get familiar with the common causes of osteolysis now.

History Of Arthritis

Patients with a family history of arthritis are at an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or both. Osteoarthritis occurs when joints have become worn, and there is no more padding between bone joints. Bones rub together during movement, which is quite painful.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune issue, and unfortunately, the condition may be passed down from one generation to another. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the joints. Symptoms include swollen joints, joint pain, stiffness in the joints, inflammation in the lungs, and nodes on the skin. There are no known cures for rheumatoid arthritis, though treatments are available to ease the symptoms. There are about 200 thousand cases of this disorder in the United States. Taking certain medications, as well as physical therapy, can help individuals living with rheumatoid arthritis protect their joints, keep their mobility, lessen their pain, and reduce the occurrence of osteolysis.

Keep reading to learn about more potential causes of osteolysis now.

Malignancies And Osteolysis

One of the phases of developing cancer may be a bone metastasis, which occurs when a malignancy occurs elsewhere in the body spreads to the bone and locates there. The areas where malignancies are most likely to spread to the bone are the prostate, lung, and breast. So, for instance, a prostate malignancy that has spread to the bone is not a bone malignancy, but a prostate malignancy that has metastasized to the bone. When a malignancy spreads to the bone, the bones become damaged (osteolysis). Malignancy-caused osteolysis causes small holes in the bone, which cause pain as well as causing the bone to become weaker.

Continue reading to learn more about the causes of osteolysis.

Joint Replacement

Over the last twenty years, complications from hip replacement and other joint replacements have markedly decreased. Unfortunately, bone loss problems such as periprosthetic osteolysis and aseptic loosening still occur more often than medical professionals would like. Periprosthetic osteolysis occurs more often than all of the other types of complications from joint replacement surgery combined, and account for a large number of replacement revision surgeries. Bone loss from periprosthetic osteolysis occurs as a secondary biological reaction to debris particles that come from wear and tear on joint implants.

Several methods are used to reduce the occurrence of osteolysis after joint surgery, such as changes in the makeup of the materials of the prosthetic joint as well as the ingredients in the cement used to fix these joints into place.

Keep reading to learn more about the various causes of osteolysis.

Abnormal Bone Growth

Bone growths like tumors and cysts, which can be both cancerous or noncancerous, are a part of osteolysis. Some of these growths originate in the bone, while others, namely secondary tumors, start out as malignancies elsewhere in the body and metastasize. The typical locations for primary tumors, whether malignant or benign, are on the distal femur and the proximal tibia. Secondary bone tumors are all metastatic lesions spreading from carcinomas of the breast, prostate, and lungs. Pain is the common symptom of these types of abnormal bone growths, but some individuals may not experience any sign other than a bump or mass. Other symptoms are fever, weight loss, anemia, fatigue, and bones that break for no apparent reason. Sometimes bones break with osteolysis because the abnormal growth makes the adjacent bones weaker.

It's time to learn about more causes of osteolysis. Keep reading now.

Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease chronically destroys the gingiva, creating gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). If gingivitis continues and carries over to the alveolar bone, bone loss occurs. Recent studies have suggested there is a relationship between osteoporosis and bone loss in gum disease. Other literature finds no correlation between osteolysis and the maxilla and mandible bones’ strength or density. In general, however, researchers seemed to notice patients with osteoporosis and osteolysis were more likely to lose alveolar bone. However, more extended studies with a wider variety of patients are recommended.

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