Pyrophosphate arthropathy: Recent clinical advances

Abstract

This review is largely confined to recent clinical studies that have contributed to our understanding of the arthritis associated with calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition. The predisposing factors, clinical range, and possible methods of treatment of pyrophosphate arthropathy are considered first, and then the question of asymptomatic chondrocalcinosis is specifically addressed by critical examination of a recently proposed 'amplification loop' hypothesis for particle-induced joint disease.