Calcium is abundantly present in human body. It is an essential mineral that helps to maintain strong bones and teeth. Almost 99 percent of calcium is found in bones and teeth. The rest is present in blood, muscles, extracellular fluid etc. Calcification is a process of abnormal deposition of calcium in body tissues. It is mainly calcium phosphate. The abnormal deposition of calcium can be classified into 3 varieties. It can be metastatic calcification, calcinosis and dystrophic calcification.
In dystrophic calcification, calcium is deposited in the abnormal tissues; tissues that have been damaged or necrosed (dead).
What Causes Calcification Of Soft Tissue?
Dystrophic calcification is a pathological calcification that occurs in the soft tissues of body. The calcium salt mainly involved in this type of abnormal deposition is calcium phosphate. In dystrophic calcification calcium deposition occurs primarily in abnormally damaged, inflamed, necrotic (dead) tissue.
In dystrophic calcification, calcium deposits are usually found locally to a specific area of the tissue that is injured. However, sometimes calcification can be generalized in certain disorders. The mechanism underlying it is loss of calcium within the injured cell that is having increased capacity to bind calcium salt. The calcium that is lost forms into a lump within the soft tissue.
Below are given the causes of dystrophic calcification of soft tissue:
- Trauma as in case of open wound.
- Necrosis of the soft tissue.
- Tumor in the soft tissue.
- Inflammation and infection. Infection caused by guinea worm etc.
- Damage of soft tissue due to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
All the above causes are localized.
Following are the generalized causes:
- Connective tissue diseases such as atherosclerosis, Marfan’s syndrome etc.
- Lupus erythematosus.
- Systemic sclerosis and other autoimmune disease such as dermatomyositis.
- Necrosis of subcutaneous fat.
- Calcification of pancreas.
- Ehlers-danlos syndrome.
- Werner’s syndrome, it is a rare genetic disease resulting in premature aging of the connective tissue.
- R-T syndrome.
Dystrophic calcification occurs in cardiac muscles that are damaged after myocardial infarction. It is also seen in fibrocystic disease of breast. The condition is also noted after treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There are some types of skin tumors such as pilomatrixoma which has tendency for dystrophic calcification.
Dystrophic calcification is observed in atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels. When detected on radiography is good predictor of damage inside the blood vessel. Besides calcification in the heart and skeletal muscles, it can occur as granuloma as in case of tuberculosis causing lymphadenitis.
Treatment For Dystrophic Soft Tissue Calcification
Most of the dystrophic calcification of soft tissue can be detected on x-ray examination. It usually appears as a white tiny gritty granule. In majority of cases it is made up of calcium phosphate. Calcium which once gets deposited into the tissue it continues uninterrupted. The treatment may vary according to the symptoms.
For example in certain cases only medications may be sufficient to reduce inflammation and further calcification. However, some patients may need surgery to remove the growth of excess calcium lump, especially if the mass is large enough that may be causing discomfort in functioning of the organ or the tissue.