Modern Mysteries
Rare disease causes woman's bones to vanish
By
T.K. RandallApril 6, 2018 ·
9 comments
The condition is known as Gorham-Stout disease. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 Tiia Monto
According to medical experts, the condition is so rare that only 64 cases of it have ever been recorded.
The 44-year-old woman, whose name has not been disclosed, first noticed that something was wrong when she started to experience a pain in her arm and shoulder that wouldn't go away.
An X-ray initially revealed a lesion in her humerus bone, suggesting that she may have cancer, however her biopsy results were inconclusive.
Over time, continued tests failed to determine what was wrong. She started to develop benign blood vessel tumors and her arm would fracture and break even from minor injuries.
Most alarming of all was the fact that on each successive X-ray, her arm bones seemed to be gradually disappearing, as if they were simply fading from existence.
She was eventually diagnosed with Gorham-Stout or 'vanishing bone' disease - an incredibly rare condition that remains a medical enigma.
Fortunately it is likely that the disease will remain confined to her arm, however there is no known cure and doctors have to date been unable to explain what causes it.
Source:
Live Science |
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