[Pathologic femoral neck fractures and para-articular beta 2 microglobulin amyloidosis in long-term dialysis patients: an increasingly frequent disease picture].

Beta-2-microglobulin (beta 2-M)-amyloidosis is caused by retention of beta 2-M by dialyzing membranes and by deposition as an atypical amyloid in synovia, bone and tendons. Ten patients under long-term hemodialysis (13 +/- 2.7 years) were treated because of hip pain and cystiform skeletal alterations. First typical joint affections appeared nine years after start of hemodialysis. Five fractures of the hip neck due to large cystiform bone lesions occurred in four subjects. In all cases a total joint replacement was performed.