Modern Mysteries

Rare disease causes woman's bones to vanish

By T.K. Randall
April 6, 2018

Image: Vaccine
Credit: John Keith (Photographer) / (PD) 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.

A woman complaining of shoulder pain has been diagnosed with “vanishing bone disease”. #9News https://t.co/ZS3Gy14RwC

— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) April 6, 2018

Source: Live Science

Tags: Bones