Kashin-Beck disease

Kashin–Beck disease

Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) is a chronic, endemic type of osteochondropathy (disease of the bone) that is mainly distributed from northeastern to southwestern China, including 15 provinces. As of 2011, Tibet has the highest incidence rate of KBD in China. Southeast Siberia and North Korea are other affected areas. KBD usually involves children ages 5–15. To date, more than a million individuals have had KBD. The symptoms of KBD include joint pain, morning stiffness in the joints, disturbances of flexion and extension in the elbows, enlarged inter-phalangeal joints, and limited motion in many joints of the body. Death of cartilage cells in the growth plate and articular surface is the basic pathologic feature; this can result in growth retardation and secondary osteoarthrosis. Histological diagnosis of KBD is particularly difficult; clinical and radiological examinations have proved to be the best means for identifying KBD. Little is known about the early stages of KBD before the visible appearance of the disease becomes evident in the destruction of the joints. This disease has been recognized for over 150 years but its cause has not yet been completely defined. Currently, the accepted potential causes of KBD include mycotoxins present in grain, trace mineral deficiency in nutrition, and high levels of fulvic acid in drinking water. Selenium and iodine have been considered the major deficiencies associated with KBD. Mycotoxins produced by fungi can contaminate grain, which may cause KBD because mycotoxins cause the production of free radicals. T-2 is the mycotoxin implicat...