Monitoring bone growth in children is important because childhood and adolescence are prime times for bone development. Healthy bone growth in children ensures fewer risks of problems in adults, report doctors at the National Kidney Foundation. Calcium in the bones increases from about 25g at birth to 900g in adult women and 1,200g in adult men. Optimal bone mass is influenced by a number of conditions, including inherited tendencies, nutrition and physical activity and metabolic and endocrine functions. Problems in any one or combined areas can lead to degenerative bone diseases in children.
Osteopetrosis
In children, the rare bone disease called osteopetrosis can cause the destruction of bone marrow. Osteopetrosis is a congenital birth defect caused by hereditary malformations. Children born with the condition have severe bone marrow failure that results in infection, bleeding and failure to grow properly. The degenerative bone disease develops at infancy and can cause blindness and deafness. The condition is almost always fatal, though in rare instances children can survive into adulthood with severe disabilities, report doctors at the American Academy of Family Physicians. The other form of osteopetrosis that affects children is marble bone disease, which develops during early childhood and is most recognized when the child does not develop properly. Children typically are disabled both mentally and physically and usually are deaf. A bone marrow transplant is one of the only treatments for osteopetrosis congenita, while interferon treatments can help to reverse marble bone disease.
Rickets
Rickets typically occur when children do not get enough vitamin D. Also referred to as richitis, rickets causes weak and soft bones in children, report doctors at the National Institutes of Health. Vitamin D, which mostly comes from food sources and sunlight, assists in the development of growing bones so they can absorb the proper nutrients. Fortified dairy products and cereal are the main dietary sources of vitamin D. The degenerative bone disease can occur when children spend too much time inside and wear too much sunscreen when they are outside. Children with dark skin are more prone to developing rickets, while strict vegetarians diets also provide little in the way of vitamin D. Nursing mothers who don't get enough vitamin D also can cause rickets in their babies. Improper vitamin D absorption also can be related to a genetic disposition or as a result of other illnesses, such as celiac disease. Nutritional rickets is treated with high doses of vitamin D and calcium, which usually provide results in as little as two weeks.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic bone disorder that causes bones to be brittle and break easily. Sometimes babies' bones break in utero or during the birthing process. Children with OI can have varying degrees of the degenerative bone disease, ranging from having a few breaks to undergoing hundreds of fractures during a lifetime. The bone disease is caused by genetic defects that disrupt the production of collagen, an important protein around which bones are formed. Doctors at the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation report that treatment for OI involves preventing breaks while providing children with as much independent mobility as possible.
