Camurati-Engelmann disease

Around half of people with Camurati-Engelmann disease have skull base thickening and around one-fourth of these people develop symptoms. Symptoms may be constant or come and go. Some patient's symptoms stabilize, while other's worsen with time. Signs and symptoms reported in the medical literature, include;^[1]

Hearing loss 
Headache
Bulging eyes 
Prominent forehead

Less common signs and symptoms, include;^[1]

Vision changes
Vertigo
Facial weakness
Symptomatic brain stem compression
Facial numbness
Loss of smell

Treatment of symptoms due to skull base thickening may involve aggressive decompression surgery in carefully selected patients. Corticosteroids and bisphosphates that may improve symptoms in the arms, legs, and torsos of some patients, have not been shown to improve symptoms caused by skull base thickening. Decompression surgery is challenging and patients are at an increased risk for complications with surgery. The form of decompression surgery will vary depending on the skull involvement and symptoms experienced by the patient. Likewise the risks for complications vary depending on these factors.^[1]

Following surgery it is possible for the bone to regrow. A recent review article found that 3 of 28 cases reported in the literature described bony regrowth following decompression surgery.^[1]

To learn more about your surgical options and to be counseled regarding the associated risks, we recommend that you speak with your healthcare provider.

You can search the medical literature for current articles describing the treatment of Camurati Englemann disease using PubMed.gov, a searchable database of medical literature. Click on "PubMed" to view a sample search on this topic. 

GeneReviews provides current, expert-authored, peer-reviewed, full-text articles describing the application of genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients with specific inherited conditions. Click on the link to view the article on this topic.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through the National Library of Medicine, developed ClinicalTrials.gov to provide patients, family members, and members of the public with current information on clinical research studies. Currently no trials are listed as enrolling people with Camurati Englemann disease specifically, however there is a study titled Evaluation and Treatment of Skeletal Diseases which may be of interest to you. Click on the study title to learn more.

The Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORTER) provides access to reports, data, and analyses of research activities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH-supported research.  Although these projects may not conduct studies on humans, you may want to contact the investigators to learn more. To search for studies, click on the embedded link above and enter the disease name in the “Terms Search” box.  Then click “Submit Query”.

Our search of RePORTER identified the following research studies which may be of interest to you.

CLINICAL, PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC AND THERAPEUTIC STUDIES
David Rimoin
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
E-mail: david.rimoin@cshs.org

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF TGFBM3 LOCUS IN VASCULAR DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE
TGFBM2 IN DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE
Rosemary Akhurst
University of California San Francisco
E-mail: rakhurst@cc.ucsf.edu  

You may also be interested in learning more about the following patient research registries:

Greenberg Center for Skeletal Dysplasias
Johns Hopkins University
Institute of Genetic Medicine
600 North Wolfe Street
Blalock 1008
Baltimore, MD 21287
Telephone: 410-614-0977
E-mail:  deedee@jhmi.edu
Web site:  http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/geneticmedicine/CR/SKD/index.html

International Skeletal Dysplasia Registry
Medical Genetics Institute
Pacific Theatres, 4th Floor
8700 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone: 800-233-2771
Fax: 310-423-0462
Click here to view their online e-mail form.
Web site: http://www.csmc.edu/3805.html