MR Imaging Findings of Paget's Disease of the Spine

Newly Diagnosed Monostotic Paget's Disease of Bone during Living Kidney Donor Candidate Evaluation

The popularity of living-donor organ donation has increased recently as an alternative to deceased-organ donation due to the growing need for organs and a shortage of deceased-donor organs. This procedure requires an in-depth health assessment of candidates, who must be in excellent physical and mental health. We present a potential living-kidney donor withdrawn from donation due to a newly diagnosed Paget's disease of bone (PDB). The patient underwent computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bone scintigraphy, and bone densitometry with trabecular bone score (TBS) assessment. The sole lumbar vertebra affected by PDB was investigated comprehensively, non-invasively, quantitatively, and qualitatively.

Imaging of Paget's Disease of Bone

Paget's disease is a metabolic bone disorder affecting the elderly and characterized by bone resorption followed by compensatory bone formation. Radiography is the imaging modality of choice for the diagnosis whereas bone scintigraphy helps stage the extent of the disease and assess response to treatment. MRI and CT are important imaging methods in the assessment of complications and surgical planning. Osteolytic lesions of Paget's first phase present with well-defined margins on radiographs, most commonly in the femur, pelvis, and skull. Cortical thickening, trabecular coarsening, bone marrow sclerosis, and deformities of long bones are present in the mixed- and late-sclerotic phases.

Review article: the current status of CT-guided needle biopsy of the spine

CT-guided percutaneous needle biopsy of the spine is a well-described technique for determining the nature of indeterminate vertebral lesions or establishing a diagnosis of spinal infection, the high diagnostic accuracy and the safety of the procedure having been extensively documented. The purpose of the current article is to review the literature to date on CT-guided spinal biopsy. Specifically, indications for spinal biopsy, techniques for optimising yield, detail of the approaches for various spinal levels which is dependent upon both the region within the spinal column and lesion location within the vertebra (body vs. neural arch), determinants of biopsy outcome and complications are covered. It is hoped that the review will be of particular benefit to junior radiologists who are required to perform this procedure.

Paget's disease of the lumbar spine: decompressive surgery following 17 years of bisphosphonate treatment

BACKGROUND

We present a rare case of Paget's disease (PD) with involvement of the lumbar spine over a period of 19 years. We discuss the diagnostic process to rule out alternative diagnoses and medical and surgical treatment strategies.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 58-year-old man first diagnosed with PD in 1998 with solid involvement of the 4th lumbar vertebra has been undergoing periodic examinations over a period of 18 years. Since then, the patient has been treated conservatively with bisphosphonates. When conservative treatment options have been exhausted, surgery was indicated due to a progressively reduced ability to walk. Surgery with undercutting decompression via laminotomy was performed. PD was confirmed by biopsy. Bisphosphonate treatment was continued pre- and postoperatively. Follow-up examinations showed an improvement in clinical outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Conservative treatment remains the gold standard for PD with spinal involvement. This patient had been asymptomatic on bisphosphonate therapy for almost 17 years, but presented with new onset back pain. In such cases, fracture and rare conversion into sarcoma must be ruled out, and biopsy should be performed even in the absence of signs of malignancy. Currently, there are no clear treatment recommendations available in the literature regarding cases of PD with expansive growth and involvement of the spinal canal causing neurologic deficits. Furthermore, laminectomy has been shown to cause complications in up to 27% of cases with the risk of early postoperative death. In contrast, extended laminotomy and undercutting decompression should be considered.