Rickets is the softening and weakening of bones in children, usually because of a deficiency of vitamin D, which is essential for your body to be able to absorb calcium and phosphorus from the foods you eat. Vitamin D is not found in many foods, but your body makes this nutrient when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Vitamin D-Resistant Rickets
According to a 2006 Merck Manuals Online Library aricle, vitamin D-resistant rickets is an older name for hypophosphatemic rickets, a form of the disease that isn't caused by a lack of vitamin D. Hypophosphatemic rickets is usually caused by a genetic effect that prompts kidney abnormalities that allow too much phosphate to be excreted into the urine, which reduces the amount of phosphate in the blood. The lack of phosphate results in weakened bones.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of hypophosphatemic rickets are the same as rickets that is due to a vitamin D deficiency. According to a 2010 article in the "U.S. Library of Medicine," mild abnormalities begin during the first year of life. These may be mild with no noticeable symptoms, or they may be severe enough to cause bowing of the legs, bone deformities, short stature and bone pain. Bony outgrowths may inhibit joint motion and skull bones may fuse too soon.
Diagnosis
You should take your child to see the doctor if she shows any of the signs or symptoms of rickets. The doctor may order X-rays and lab tests that measure calcium and phosphate levels in the blood. If your child has hypophosphatemic rickets, the calcium levels will probably be normal, but the phosphate levels will be decreased.
Treatment
According to the Merck Manuals piece cited above, treatment focuses on increasing phosphate levels in the blood, which will promote normal bone growth. Your doctor may prescribe oral phosphate, along with the active form of vitamin D, called calcitriol. Your doctor may also monitor blood levels of calcium and phosphate carefully and adjust the treatment dosage to avoid elevated blood calcium levels that may harm your kidneys or cause kidney stones.
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