What are the main symptoms of Kaschin-Beck disease?

Kashin-Beck disease is an endemic disease, also known as dwarfism or abacus bead disease in China. Kashin-Beck disease has a relatively large distribution range in my country and often manifests itself in a variety of symptoms. In adolescence, the bone plates will ossify prematurely, causing developmental abnormalities, often manifesting as dwarfism, body shape, and joints that appear enlarged when pressed. During adolescence, it often causes inflammation of the bones and joints, leading to swelling of the bones and joints, and even effusion, etc.

Clinical manifestations

1. Onset in adolescence

Due to the premature ossification of the epiphyseal plate, developmental disorders occur, resulting in dwarfism. The patients are short in stature, have large joints, and suffer from pain and limited mobility. The ankle joints are affected first, followed by the finger joints, knees, elbows, wrists, toe joints and hips. Due to the inconsistent speed of epiphyseal fusion, the two lower limbs often have genu varum, knee valgum or hip varus deformities. The fingers are short and small and the feet are flat. The younger the age of onset, the more severe the deformity.

2. Onset in late adolescence

The deformity is not obvious. The main manifestations are symptoms of osteoarthritis, including swollen joints, a small amount of effusion, a feeling of friction during movement, and locking symptoms. Sometimes loose bodies can be found in the joints. Adults often suffer from the disease in their lower limbs, and walking becomes very inconvenient due to swelling and pain in the ankles and knees.

Causes

The cause of KBD is still unknown. It was suspected to be caused by chronic oral poisoning, but it has not been confirmed. Most people believe that it may be related to pathogenic mold in grains. Animal experiments: Animals fed with grains infected with pathogenic molds showed pathological changes in their bones similar to those of large joint disease. The pathogenic fungus may be Fusarium solani, but this has not yet been fully confirmed.

complication

Common complications of this disease include:

1. Short stature, dwarf type.

2. The joints are enlarged, painful and limited in movement, with the ankle joints being the first to be affected, followed by the finger joints, knees, elbows, wrists, toe joints and hips.

3. Genu varum, knee valgum or hip varus deformity.

4. Osteoarthritis, difficulty walking.

treat

Symptomatic treatment can relieve pain. Surgical treatment can be performed for patients with obvious joint deformities. For patients with locking and pain caused by loose bodies, the loose bodies can be removed. For patients with excessive and large bone labrums that affect joint movement, the bone labrum can be removed to improve function. For patients with joint varus or valgus, osteotomy can be performed. Because most of the lesions are bilateral or multiple, arthrodesis is not suitable.