Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare, xanthogranulomatous, non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis with frequent systemic involvement. Although the diagnosis is based on characteristic histological and radiological findings, its identification can be challenging because of its heterogeneous presentation. Osteosclerosis of long bones, often associated with bone pain, is the most common initial mani...

Schnitzler's syndrome is a rather rare disease which may appear in a rheumatologist's office because patients often report rheumatic symptoms with joint, bone and muscle pain. However, it is characterized by chronic urticaria, recurrent fever, liver and spleen enlargement, osteosclerosis, and lymphadenopathy, in conjunction with a serum IgM M component. A patient who had been treated with relat...

A new syndrome has been described comprising polyneuropathy, oedema, hyperpigmentation and thickening of the skin, gynaecomastia in males and amenorrhoea in females, monoclonal gammopathy, papilloedema and diabetes. There is frequent osteosclerosis with or without plasmacytoma, hepatosplenomegaly and polycythaemia. There is a good response to corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs and occasio...

Osteoarthritis (OA) most frequently involves the hands, knees, hips, and spine; it is diagnosed on the basis of joint pain and radiographic evidence of non-uniform narrowing of a joint space, osteophytes, and subchondral osteosclerosis and cysts [1,2]. There are three etiological classifications; Type I is genetic, Type II is estrogen-dependent, and Type III is aging-related [3] (Table 1). The ...

Skeletal radiographs of 122 patients treated by maintenance haemodialysis were reviewed retrospectively for bone disease. Significant radiological bone changes were very low at commencement of dialysis (29%), as well as at six months of dialysis (6.1%). This figure rose to 19.7% when the total period of dialysis was considered. In the latter group, fractures occurred in seven patients (5.7%), e...