Treatment and Life Expectancy

As I mentioned in a previous post, people afflicted with FOP get flare-ups of bone tissue that usually last for a few weeks. 



Ossified body on right; X-ray of feet on left

Exterior view of bone growth

There are currently no known treatments for these flare-ups, only drugs and medications can be used to deal with the pain.  Surgery is an option; however, this often leads the body into thinking that the tissue has been damaged and this results in the formation of more bone by the FOP receptor proteins.

Corticosteroids are used to control swelling and pain caused by flare-ups. Cox-2 inhibitors and NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) are used when long-term treatments are required.

Regardless of the treatment, care must be taken at all times.  As with surgery, any tissue damage, even as minor as a bruise, may send a signal to the receptors to begin bone creation.

 

Life Expectancy:

 

People with FOP don't necessarily have a life expectancy set in stone.  Most FOP patients have died before they reached 40 years of age.  However, a few have lived to be over 60.  It truly comes down to the conditions and circumstances in which they live.  There is nothing preventing people with FOP to live as old as those without it, but with as easy as it is to facilitate bone growth through damaged tissues, many people become paralyzed within their own body by the time they reach 25.