Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Paget’s disease of the bone is a rare endocrine disease especially among Africans and Asians. Hence the detection of a case in a middle-aged Nigerian is of interest.

Case presentation: A 62-year-old Nigerian man in apparent good health was found to have markedly elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of 1179 U/l during a routine medical check-up. He had no history suggestive of Paget’s disease of the bone and also had no known family history of bone disease. His general and systemic examinations were essentially normal. Repeat ALP in our centre was 902 IU/l. Cranial CT scan showed diffuse cranial vault thickening consistent with Paget’s disease which was confirmed by Tc-99m HMDP. He was placed on 40 mg alendronate tablets daily for 6 months.The patient has remained clinically stable during the 3-year follow-up period. His serum ALP results have also been within normal limits.

Conclusion: Paget’s disease can occur in Africans though very rare; alendronate is a useful therapeutic option for treatment.