CPPD Deposition Disease.
Last updated Tuesday, December 21, 2004
SymptomsWhat are symptoms of cppd deposition disease? Whatever the initial cause, CPPD crystals can cause a variety of different problems.
The most dramatic symptoms occur when a number of crystals break
loose from their location in the cartilage, meniscus, or synovial
membrane and move into the joint space. This movement of the crystals
into the joint can cause sudden and severe pain in the joint, along
with redness, warmth, and swelling (inflammation). Inflammation is one
way the body can react to CPPD crystals. It sees them as "invaders" and
sends disease-fighting white blood cells to attack them.
This joint pain may last for days or weeks. It resembles a gout
attack (hence the old term "pseudogout"). It can occur in any joint,
but commonly occurs in the knee or wrist. A low-grade fever may
accompany this form of the disease. In many people the symptoms go
away, even without treatment, only to recur at some later time.
More often, however, CPPD crystals create less severe, but longer
lasting problems. These include stiffness, swelling, heat, and pain that affect many joints.
This often happens in the knees, but can also happen in the wrists,
knuckles, hips, shoulders, elbows, ankles, or toes. The pain is not
sudden; instead, it develops over a long period of time and can last
many weeks or months. The pain may be worse the more you move your
joints.
Over time, either form of the disease may damage the cartilage
and/or the meniscus of the knee. When this happens, the bones rub
together and cause a grating sensation and pain when the joint is used.
You may have only one of these patterns or you may have both. With
either pattern, you may have periods when your symptoms are worse than
at other times. You also may have completely symptom-free periods.
Because CPPD crystal deposition disease often takes a long time to
develop, some people have no symptoms at all even when joint damage is
already slowly occurring. Evidence of the CPPD crystals often can be
seen on X-rays before symptoms are present. What conditions have similar sympoms or might be confused with cppd deposition disease?
The symptoms of CPPD crystal deposition disease are similar to symptoms of other diseases, such as:
- Gout
causes sudden attacks of joint pain due to another type of crystal.
This is most common at the base of the big toe, but can occur anywhere.
- Rheumatoid arthritis
causes chronic swelling, heat, morning stiffness, and pain in the
joints and can also involve other tissues. The hands and fingers are
involved in most cases.
- Osteoarthritis causes joint pain and swelling due to damage to the cartilage in the joint.
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