Rare Bone & Muscle Diseases: Symptoms, Causes & Treatments

Nearly 7,000 rare diseases affect millions of individuals in the U.S. Bone diseases such as fibrous dysplasia and Gorham's disease, along with myasthenia gravis, a rare muscle disease, are included.

Considerations

• Fibrous dysplasia, a rare bone disease, can affect just one bone or many bones. A defective gene causes weakening of the bones that will likely lead to fracture. Expect pain to accompany this disease, according to U.S. Bone and Joint Decade.

More Considerations

• Gorham's disease, a rare condition of the musculoskeletal system, may occur at any age. No direct connection to race or gender is apparent, according to the Lymphangiomatosis and Gorham's Disease Alliance.

Significance

• A rare muscle disease, myasthenia gravis, affects about 70,000 people in the U.S., according to SarasotaNeurology.com. Myasthenia gravis diagnosis includes a medical history, neurologic examination, electromyography and a Tensilon test.

Research

• Researchers have discovered a gene responsible for a rare genetic disorder that causes weakness in the lower leg muscles that interferes with the ability to walk, according to the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research.

Types

• Brittle bone disease, a rare genetic disorder, causes the bones to be easily breakable. There are eight levels or types of brittle bone disease, according to Buzzle.com.