Chondrocalcinosis (Subscribe)  

We report a case of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease (CPDD) presenting as an acute polyarthritis. A 66-yr-old woman was admitted with a 5-day history of fever and multiple joint pain including wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and ankles developed 5 days before admission. Her plain radiographs of wrists, elbows,...

The present report shows that CPPD-CDD may not be uncommon among Arabs in the Gulf region. A high degree of clinical awareness and routine examination of joint aspirates with careful analysis for crystals may make it a more common diagnosis in this part of the world. In this regard it...

manifestations can occur singly or in any combination
* pseudogout
* arthropathy
* chondrocalcinosis

Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPDD) is a metabolic arthropathy caused by the deposition of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) in and around joints, especially in articular and fibrocartilage. Although CPDD is often asymptomatic, with only radiographic changes (ie, chondrocalcinosis), various clinical manifestations may occur, including acute (pseudogout) and chronic arthritis. Although...

deposition disease is the most common crystalline arthropathy (1), the onginal discovery of intraarticular CPPD crystals did not occur until 1961 and 1962, when McCarty and others (2,3) identified nonurate crystals in the joint fluid of patients who had goutlike attacks of arthritis. These crystals were characterized by their weak positive birefringence at polarized light microscopy, a finding that distinguished them from...

"the three C's"
1. Cation disease * hyperparathyroidism (Ca++) * hemochromatosis (Fe++) * Wilson disease (Cu++)
2. Crystal deposition...

Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition (CPPD) disease is an arthritis variant. CPPD is actually a chemical aberration that manifests as at least 4 separate, yet related, diseases. Chondrocalcinosis has been described as the streaking of soft tissues with calcium. The term chondrocalcinosis sometimes is misapplied as a synonym for CPPD disease,...

Gout or pseudogout, caused by deposition of crystals, rarely affects the spine. We report 4 cases with gout or pseudogout in the lumbar spine. Two had cauda equina syndrome and another 2 had spinal stenosis. To avoid unnecessary surgery, this should be considered in the differential diagnosis when treating patients...

Disordered calcification of cartilage and ligaments occurs commonly amongst the elderly, yet the reasons for this are very poorly understood. Chondrocalcinosis affects 25% of the population aged over 85 yr and 3% of people aged between 65 and 69 yr show radiological evidence of the disease
Genetic studies of disorders of...

The joint inflammation which characterizes gout and calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal arthropathy requires the presence of either monosodium urate (MSU) or CPPD crystals in the joint cavity. Crystals were associated with arthritis after their identification in the synovial fluid (SF) of inflamed joints; subsequently, it was noted that crystal...

A 66-year-old woman, diagnosed with chronic thyroiditis at age 63, presented with anorexia and fatigue. Therapy for the chronic thyroiditis consisted of levothyroxine sodium (100 microg/day). Her symptoms were attributed to the insufficient supply of levothyroxine sodium. Following a dosage increase to 150 microg/day, she suffered from an acute attack...

Review of the features and management of chondrocalcinosis
Pyrophosphate arthropathy--recent clinical advances. Doherty M. Ann Rheum Dis. 1983 Aug;42 Suppl 1:38-44. full text

Neck pain due to calcifications surrounding the odontoid process were described by Bouvet et al in 1985 and termed crowned dens syndrome (CDS) ([11]). They described 4 women who experienced neck pain and underwent tomographic examination revealing radioopaque densities surrounding the top and sides of the odontoid process in a...