Calcium Deposits

By Philip Clements, M.D., M.P.H., UCLA School of Medicine, Dept. of Rheumatology (originally published in Scleroderma Voice, Spring 2001)

Calcium deposits (calcifications or calcinosis) in the soft tissues are common in scleroderma, particularly late in the course (40% of persons who have had scleroderma for longer than 10 years may have calcinosis). Most occur in patients who have had systemic sclerosis for at least 5 years.

The calcium deposits may be obvious "lumps" around the elbows, shins, and fingers or they may be hidden in the tissues, requiring an x-ray to find them.

When these deposits break through the skin they may appear as grains of sand or as a white gooey paste, like toothpaste.

They result from tissue damage from scleroderma and are not the result of taking too much calcium in the diet. Patients with osteoporosis (usually postmenopausal females) should continue to take oral calcium to maintain the calcium in their bones, even if they have calcium deposits in the soft tissues.

Unfortunately there is not a magic remedy which can prevent the deposits or make them go away once they are there.

Occasionally calcium deposits can cause pain, redness and swelling which looks like an infection. A course of antibiotics is frequently given on the presumption that there is an infection.

The redness and swelling, however, can be the result of a noninfectious inflammatory reaction to the calcium itself. In that case oral colchicine once or twice a day may help reduce the inflammation from these deposits. The colchicine can be stopped once the inflammation subsides.