Melorheostosis: A Rare Bone Disorder

Melorheostosis is a rare disorder of the bone, where the outer layer of the bone (cortex) becomes wider. It causes severe pain in the body and physical deformity. It mainly affects one limb of a human body.

Cause

Melorheostosis is caused by the mutation of a gene, LEMD3. It affects bone as well as soft tissue. Though it tends to be monostoic, i.e. affecting only one limb but there are some evidences which shows that Melorhiostosis affects multiple limbs, ribs, and bones in the spine.

Symptoms

On X-Rays diagnosis, this condition resembles ‘the dripping of wax from a candle’. The main symptoms of Melorheostosis are:
Pain in joints.
Deformity of limbs
Change of skin over affected areas
Thickening of outer layer of skin

Treatment

Melorheostosis can affect any age and sex. The treatment includes corrective surgery for physical deformity. In rare cases Amputation (removal of body extremity by surgery) may be needed.