ENGELMANN’S DISEASE

Total Hip Arthroplasty in a Patient with Camurati-Engelmann Disease: A Case Report

CASE

We review the case of a 44-year-old man with Camurati-Engelmann disease, who presented with chronic right hip pain that did not improve following intra-articular hip injections. He was functionally debilitated because of the worsening pain. Routine radiographs demonstrated severe right hip osteoarthritis and severe diaphyseal sclerosis of the femur. To address the narrowed medullary cavity, appropriate reaming of the diaphysis and broaching to fill the metaphysis were performed. The patient underwent an uncemented total hip arthroplasty that resulted in an excellent recovery with no complications.

CONCLUSION

Uncemented total hip arthroplasty serves as a good option for patients with hip osteoarthritis secondary to Camurati-Engelmann disease. Anticipation of potential operative challenges is the key to avoiding complications and achieving an optimal, durable outcome.

Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes in Camurati-Engelmann disease: A case series

BACKGROUND

Camurati-Engelmann disease is an extremely rare disease characterized by hyperostosis of multiple long bones. This condition is caused by heterozygous mutations in the TGFB1 gene.

METHODS

We describe the clinical and genetic characteristics of 4 Korean patients with this rare disease diagnosed at Asan Medical Center in Korea between June 2012 and May 2016, to increase awareness about this condition among general physicians and orthopedists. The presenting features, biochemical findings, radiographic and nuclear imaging findings, molecular analysis, and treatment outcomes of 4 patients were reviewed retrospectively.

RESULTS

Two patients had sporadic disease, whereas the other 2 were familial cases. The average age at symptom onset was 8.8 ± 5.5 (4-14) years. Symptoms included waddling gait or leg pain. Bone pain and easy fatigability were documented in all patients. Skeletal deformities such as osteoporosis, genu valgum, and severe scoliosis were observed. Visual and otologic manifestations presenting as exophthalmos, retinal detachment, and vestibulopathy were found in 3 patients. Skeletal survey showed diaphyseal expansion with diffuse cortical thickening of long bones in all patients. Bone scintigraphy images showed increased uptake of radioactive material in the calvarium and diaphysis of long bones. The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 46.5 ± 22.2 (20-72) mm/h. Sequence analysis of TGFB1 revealed the previously reported mutations p.Arg218His, p.Arg218Cys, and p.Glu169Lys. Corticosteroid was effective in relieving pain, and losartan was used as maintenance therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our experience suggests that this rare condition can be suspected in patients with characteristic symptoms and skeletal findings. Considering the presence of effective medical treatment, efforts are needed to identify more cases.

Orthopedic Manifestations of Type I Camurati-Engelmann Disease

BACKGROUND

Camurati-Engelmann disease (CED) is a rare genetic skeletal disorder characterized by limb pain, muscle emaciation and weakness, and cortical thickening of the diaphysis of long bones. It is caused by mutations in the transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) (type I) or other unknown gene(s) (type II). We present 8 consecutive patients with type I CED.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed medical records and radiographs of type I CED patients with special reference to the mode of presentation, process of diagnostic work-up, and disease course. They were 4 sporadic patients, and two pairs of mother and son.

RESULTS

We categorized the mode of presentation into three groups. Group I had 4 patients who mainly presented with motor disturbances in young age. They drew medical attention for waddling gait, awkward ambulation or running, difficulty in going upstairs, or a positive Gower's sign at age 4 to 6 years. Subsequent development of limb pain and radiographic abnormality led to the diagnosis of CED at age 6 to 29 years. Group II had 3 patients who mainly presented with limb pain at age 15, 20, and 54 years, respectively. Radiographic evaluation and molecular genetic test led to the diagnosis of CED. The remaining 1 patient (group III) was asymptomatic until age 9 years when bony lesions at the tibiae were found incidentally. For the last 10 years, he intermittently complained of leg pain in the morning or after sports activities, which did not interfere with daily life. All the patients in group I showed a body mass index in the underweight range (< 18.4 kg/m²). At the latest follow-up, 4 patients in groups I and II required medication for the limb pain.

CONCLUSIONS

CED presents with a wide range of severity. Awareness of this rare disease entity may be the key to timely correct diagnosis. This disease entity should be considered in the differential diagnosis of limb pain or motor disturbance in children to avoid unnecessary diagnostic work-up.

Camurati-Engelmann disease: unique variant featuring a novel mutation in TGFβ1 encoding transforming growth factor beta 1 and a missense change in TNFSF11 encoding RANK ligand

We report a 32-year-old man and his 59-year-old mother with a unique and extensive variant of Camurati-Engelmann disease (CED) featuring histopathological changes of osteomalacia and alterations within TGFβ1 and TNFSF11 encoding TGFβ1 and RANKL, respectively. He suffered leg pain and weakness since childhood and reportedly grew until his late 20s, reaching 7 feet in height. He had deafness, perforated nasal septum, torus palatinus, disproportionately long limbs with knock-knees, low muscle mass, and pseudoclubbing. Radiographs revealed generalized skeletal abnormalities, including wide bones and cortical and trabecular bone thickening in keeping with CED, except that long bone ends were also affected. Lumbar spine and hip BMD Z-scores were + 7.7 and + 4.4, respectively. Biochemical markers of bone turnover were elevated. Hypocalciuria accompanied low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels. Pituitary hypogonadism and low serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 were present. Karyotype was normal. Despite vitamin D repletion, iliac crest histology revealed severe osteomalacia. Exon 1 of TNFRSF11A (RANK), exons 2, 3, and 4 of LRP5, and all coding exons and adjacent mRNA splice junctions of TNFRSF11B (OPG), SQSTM1 (sequestosome 1), and TNSALP (tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase) were intact. His asymptomatic and less dysmorphic 5'11″ mother, also with low serum 25(OH)D, had milder clinical, radiological, biochemical, and histopathological findings. Both individuals were heterozygous for a novel 12-bp duplication (c.27_38dup, p.L10_L13dup) in exon 1 of TGFβ1, predicting four additional leucine residues in the latency-associated-peptide segment of TGFβ1, consistent with CED. The son was also homozygous for a single base transversion in TNFSF11, predicting a nonconservative amino acid change (c.107C > G, p.Pro36Arg) in the intracellular domain of RANKL that was heterozygous in his nonconsanguineous parents. This TNFSF11 variant was not found in the SNP Database, nor in published TNFSF11 association studies, but it occurred in four of the 134 TNFSF11 alleles (3.0%) we tested randomly among individuals without CED. Perhaps the unique phenotype of this CED family is conditioned by altered RANKL activity.

Camurati-Engelmann disease: imaging, clinical features and differential diagnosis

We report four sporadic and three familial patients with Camurati-Engelmann disease. One patient had follow-up examinations over 8 years. Pain in the extremities and muscle weakness were common clinical symptoms. Most patients also had cranial nerve impairment, hepatosplenomegaly, a waddling gait, and elevated serum alkaline phosphatase levels. Long bones were affected in all. We discuss the differential diagnosis for this interesting bone entity.

The first Korean case of Camurati-Engelmann disease (progressive diaphyseal dysplasia) confirmed by TGFB1 gene mutation analysis

Camurati-Engelmann disease (CED) is an autosomal dominant progressive diaphyseal dysplasia caused by mutations in the transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGFB1) gene. We report the first Korean family with an affected mother and son who were diagnosed with CED. The proband is a 19-yr-old male with a history of abnormal gait since the age of 2. He also suffered from proximal muscle weakness, pain in the extremities, and easy fatigability. Skeletal radiographs of the long bones revealed cortical, periosteal, and endosteal thickenings, predominantly affecting the diaphyses of the upper and lower extremities. No other bony abnormalities were noted in the skull and spine and no remarkable findings were seen on laboratory tests. The patient's mother had a long-standing history of mild limb pain. Under the impression of CED on radiographic studies, we performed mutation analysis. A heterozygous G to A transition at cDNA position +653 in exon 4 of the TGFB1 gene (R218H) was detected in the patient and his mother.

Camurati-Engelmann disease in conjunction with hypogonadism

OBJECTIVE

To report a case of Camurati-Engelmann disease (CED) in conjunction with hypogonadism, an association that has not been previously described.

METHODS

We present the clinical, laboratory, and histopathologic features of our case. In addition, we review the molecular genetics of CED.

RESULTS

CED is a rare autosomal dominant disorder of the skeleton, characterized by bilaterally symmetric, progressive dysplasia of the bones. The typical features of this disorder are hyperostotic and sclerotic changes in the bones, primarily of the extremities. Our patient, a 49-year-old male resident of a nursing home, presented with muscle weakness, waddling gait, bone pain, and increased fatigability, usual features of CED (which had been formally diagnosed when he was 8 years old). He also had hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and almost undetectable serum testosterone. The gene responsible for CED has been mapped to the same locus as the gene for the synthesis of transforming growth factor (TGF-b 1). Mutations in the TGF b 1 gene have been identified in patients with CED. TGF-b 1 also has an important role in reproductive function, both during embryogenesis and in adulthood. It has predominant effects on steroidogenesis as well as spermatogenesis. We discuss the hormonal and histopathologic changes in our patient and postulate that the association of CED with hypogonadism could be attributable to the impaired regulation of gonadal growth and steroidogenesis, in which TGF-b 1 has an important role.

CONCLUSION

We propose that the association of CED with hypogonadism could be explained on the basis of a common underlying mutation in the TGF b 1 gene, leading to accumulation of excessive TGF-b 1.

Marked phenotypic variability in progressive diaphyseal dysplasia (Camurati-Engelmann disease): report of a four-generation pedigree, identification of a mutation in TGFB1, and review

Progressive diaphyseal dysplasia (PDD) (Camurati-Engelmann disease) is an autosomal dominant craniotubular dysplasia characterized by hyperostosis and sclerosis of the diaphyses of the long bones and the skull. Mutations in transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFB1) were recently found in patients with PDD. We report on a four-generation pedigree with seven individuals affected by PDD, linkage and mutational analysis results, and review the literature. This pedigree demonstrates the autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, remarkable variation in expressivity, and reduced penetrance. The most severely affected individual had progression of mild skull hyperostosis to severe skull thickening and cranial nerve compression over 30 years. His carrier father remained asymptomatic into his ninth decade and had no radiographic hyperostosis or sclerosis of the bones. Symptomatic relatives presented with lower limb pain and weakness. They were initially diagnosed with a variety of other conditions. Two of the symptomatic individuals were treated successfully with prednisone. We genotyped 7 markers from chromosome region 19q13.1-13.3 in 15 relatives and confirmed linkage to this region in this family. We screened the TGFB1 gene for mutations and identified a missense mutation resulting in an R218H substitution in the affected individuals, the asymptomatic obligate carrier, and another unaffected relative. We genotyped the family for seven known TGFB1 polymorphisms and a novel TAAA tetranucleotide repeat in intron 1. These polymorphisms did not appear to account for the variability in disease severity in this family. Our review illustrates how the disorder can significantly compromise health. Cranial involvement, which occurs in 61% of patients, can be severe, entrapping cranial nerves or causing increased intracranial pressure. Therapy with corticosteroids should be attempted in all symptomatic patients.

Camurati-Engelmann disease type II: progressive diaphyseal dysplasia with striations of the bones

We recently found mutations of the transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1) gene (TGFB1) in 9 families, in which progressive diaphyseal dysplasia (Camurati-Engelmann disease) is segregating [Kinoshita et al., 2000: Nat Genetics 26:19-20]. During the study, we encountered two unrelated girls, aged 17 and 11 years, who had clinical manifestations of the disorder, such as marfanoid habitus, waddling gait, muscular weakness, intense leg pain, flexion contracture of the hip and knee joints, delayed sexual development, increased serum alkaline phosphatase levels, and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rates. Radiographic studies in the two girls demonstrated not only diaphyseal dysplasia (cortical thickening of the diaphyses) resembling that of progressive diaphyseal dysplasia but also metaphyseal expansion of the long bones, coarse and thick trabeculae of the long and short tubular bones, striations in the spinal, pelvic, and long bones, and cranial sclerosis restricted to the petromastoid regions. These radiographic changes were overall identical with those seen in hyperostosis generalisata with striations of the bones rather than those in progressive diaphyseal dysplasia. Polymerase chain reaction-direct sequencing of all exons and their flanking regions of TGFB1 did not detect any mutations. PCR-single strand conformational polymorphism analysis of the TGF-beta type 1 receptor gene (TGFBR1) did not demonstrate any aberrant DNA fragments. We concluded from these findings that the two girls we described belong to a unique entity distinct from either of the two disorders.