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February 9, 2012

Aseptic Necrosis
(Avascular Necrosis or Osteonecrosis)

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Aseptic necrosis facts

  • Aseptic necrosis is a bone condition that results from poor blood supply to an area of bone, causing localized bone death.
  • Aseptic necrosis can be caused by trauma, damage to the blood vessels that supply bone its oxygen, poor blood circulation to the bone, abnormally thick blood (hypercoagulable state), and atherosclerosis or inflammation of the blood vessel walls (vasculitis).
  • Steroid medications (cortisone, such as prednisone [Deltasone, Liquid Pred] and methylprednisolone [Medrol, Depo-Medrol]) are the most common medications to cause aseptic necrosis.
  • Risk factors for aseptic necrosis include alcoholism, cortisone medications, Cushing's syndrome, radiation exposure, sickle cell disease, pancreatitis, Gaucher disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
  • Aseptic necrosis may or may not cause pain.
  • The treatment of aseptic necrosis is critically dependent on the stage of the condition.

What is aseptic necrosis?

Aseptic necrosis is a bone condition that results from poor blood supply to an area of bone, causing localized bone death. This is a serious condition because the dead areas of bone do not function normally, are weakened, and can collapse. Aseptic necrosis is also referred to as avascular necrosis or osteonecrosis.

What causes aseptic necrosis?

Aseptic necrosis can be caused by trauma and damage to the blood vessels that supply bone its oxygen. Other causes of poor blood circulation to the bone include a blockage by air or fat (embolism) that obstructs the blood flow through the blood vessels, abnormally thick blood (hypercoagulable state), atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), or inflammation of the blood vessel walls (vasculitis). Steroid medications (cortisone, such as prednisone [Deltasone, Liquid Pred] and methylprednisolone [Medrol, Depo-Medrol]) are the most common medications to cause aseptic necrosis. Typical bones affected by steroids include the femur bone of the hip, the humerus bone of the shoulder, and the tibia bone of the knee, sometimes in combinations and frequently affecting both sides of the body (bilateral). Aseptic necrosis of the jawbone has been associated with the use of medications (bisphosphonates) used to treat high blood calcium levels from cancer.




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Aseptic Necrosis

What is leprosy?

Leprosy is a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, which causes damage to the skin and the peripheral nervous system. The disease develops slowly (from six months to 40 years!) and results in skin lesions and deformities, most often affecting the cooler places on the body (for example, eyes, nose, earlobes, hands, feet, and testicles). The skin lesions and deformities can be very disfiguring and are the reason that infected individuals historically were considered outcasts in many cultures. Although human-to-human transmission is the primary source of infection, three other species can carry and (rarely) transfer M. leprae to humans: chimpanzees, mangabey monkeys, and nine-banded armadillos. The disease is termed a chronic granulomatous disease, similar to tuberculosis, because it produces inflammatory nodules (granulomas) in the skin and nerves over time.

What is the history of lepro...

Read the Leprosy article »







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