Paget's Disease

The Paget’s Disease topic includes research on the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Paget’s disease of the bone (osteitis deformans), a disorder that causes bones to grow too large and weaken. The bones most commonly affected by Paget’s disease include the pelvis, skull, spine, femur, and tibia.

Risk factors include age (over 40), Anglo-Saxon descent, and family history. Some studies suggest that the number of people who have Paget’s disease and the severity of the disease are decreasing in some countries. Although the cause of Paget’s disease remains unclear, researchers suspect that environmental factors and genes play a role in the development of the disease. Scientists have identified changes in genes that may increase the chance someone could develop Paget’s disease.