Dystrophic calcification occurs when calcium salts build up in damaged or dead tissue, triggered by autoimmune diseases, infections, and some cancers. Treatment involves interfering with the immune response. Other causes include traumatic myositis ossificans, injection granulomas, and phlebolitis. Hardening of the arteries can also cause calcification.
Dystrophic calcification is a cellular response to severely damaged or dead tissue. Large cells called macrophages begin digesting the dead tissue. During this digestive process, calcium salts build up in the area, causing necrotic tissue to calcify. Calcification of degenerated tissue can occur anywhere in the body, triggered by an autoimmune disease, infection, and some cancers. Damaged tissue can also develop calcified areas.
People diagnosed with certain autoimmune diseases, including dermatomyositis and scleroderma, may experience dystrophic calcifications. Tissue inflammation occurs when the immune system begins to attack the body, and once invaded and damaged, these areas often develop cartilaginous or hyalinized scar tissue. Calcium deposits can develop when macrophages initially attack tissue or when white blood cells attempt to digest scar tissue. Healthcare professionals inhibit the calcification process in these disorders by interfering with the immune response. Treatment of these disorders often involves prescribing anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressant medications.
When the immune system perceives abnormal cell growth or invading organisms as threats, dystrophic calcification usually occurs when the immune system responds by walling off the affected area. People who get parasitic or tuberculous infections regularly develop calcified regions around the infected tissue as the immune system attempts to destroy the foreign organisms. Treatment with the appropriate medications usually eliminates the infection and prevents further calcification. As sarcoma tumors begin to form, malignant cells often produce dystrophic calcification formations. These calcified regions are often evident when bone sarcomas metastasize to nearby soft or distant breast tissue.
After tissue is injured or traumatized, blood can pool, resulting in a bruise or hematoma. Open wounds usually develop scar tissue. Either of these scenarios can result in dystrophic calcification resulting from a condition known as traumatic myositis ossificans. Injection granulomas can occur when the drug is inadvertently injected into fatty tissue, causing necrosis and scarring. Cellular infiltration can result in calcium deposits, and treatment of granuloma or myositis ossificans may require surgical removal.
Venous insufficiency, prolonged immobility, and other conditions can produce blood clots, and these clots can calcify, causing phlebolitis. Predominantly found in organs located in the pelvic region, phleboliths can form anywhere in venous structures. Hardening of the arteries begins as lipoprotein or fatty deposits between the innermost and medial walls of an artery. Phagocytic cells commonly digest these deposits, but when these cells die, they release chemicals that attract more phagocytes, causing inflammation, calcium deposits, and plaque formation.
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