SARS patients prone to bone degeneration, officials claims

[dArKeR]

Some 50 patients who recovered from SARS in Hong Kong are suffering from bone degeneration possibly caused by the drugs used to treat the potentially fatal virus, the Hospital Authority said yesterday.

HA Chairman Leung Che-hung said the authority had contacted about 1,500 patients who had recovered from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and found about 50 of the 500 who had undergone medical examinations were found to have avascular necrosis.

The disease results from the temporary or permanent loss of blood to the bones, causing tissue to die and sometimes bones to collapse. It commonly affects the ends of longer bones.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/China/HK/2003/11/10/1068429284.htm