Paget's disease.

A review of the signs, symptoms, and treatment of Paget's disease is presented. Paget, or osteitis deformans, is a chronic, progressive, bone disease of viral etiology. Recent investigations about the causative agent of this disorder have implicated the measles virus of the paramyxovirus family. Additional studies have demonstrated that abnormal virus-infected osteoclasts generate interleukin (IL)-6, a resorptive cytokine from the bone marrow of patients with Paget's bone disease.