Scleroderma and Calcium Deposits
By Laura Carbone, M.D., Associate
Professor of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health
Science Center (originally published in Scleroderma
Voice, 2004 #1)
 |
| Laura
Carbone, M.D. |
Q. My mother-in-law has
been experiencing painful calcium deposits in her fingertips
over the last 8 months. It is becoming more uncomfortable
for her and she notices after having her hands in water
the pain is increased. Sometimes she cannot stand the
pain and will poke a hole in the painful area to drain
it, but it keeps coming back.
I read that a possible treatment
is minocycline. She was part of a group study for minocycline
some years ago, and she developed very painful mouth
sores because of it so this is not an option for her.
Have there been any improvements to this drug, or are
there any alternatives to managing this painful complication?
I want to help her so much.
A. I can certainly understand
your wanting to help your mother-in-law with this. Calcinosis
can be a very painful and debilitating condition.
I would suggest she not “poke
holes” in the area herself, because infections
may develop. A recent report does suggest low-dose minocycline
may be helpful for calcinosis in patients with scleroderma
but more work in this area is needed.
Some reports have suggested that
diltiazem, a blood pressure medicine may help, but this
has yet to be confirmed in any large-scale studies.
Although older reports suggest
warfarin, a blood thinner, might help, this has not
been shown to be true, and is not generally recommended.
Unfortunately, we do not yet
have a good, safe treatment for calcinosis that has
been confirmed by large studies. |
