MSELENI AND HANDIGODU FAMILIAL OSTEOARTHROPATHIES - SYNDROMIC IDENTITY

Mseleni joint disease (MJD) and Handigodu joint disease (HJD) are fami lial skeletal disorders that affect several hundred persons in norther n Zululand, South Africa and in the Shimoga district of southern India , respectively, Severe precocious, progressive degenerative osteoarthr opathy, which occurs in both conditions, causes marked physical handic ap by adulthood, The clinical and radiological manifestations of MJD a nd HJD are very similar and it is possible that they represent the sam e entity, HJD appears to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, while MJD clusters in families without a definite Mendelian pattern, I t is possible that an environmental factor is active in the pathogenes is of both disorders and comparative investigations would be fruitful, The predominance of severe degenerative osteoarthropathy in both diso rders may have important implications for the elucidation of the patho genesis of the common conventional forms of osteoarthropathy. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.