Onset, Progression, and Plateau of Skeletal Lesions in Fibrous Dysplasia and the Relationship to Functional Outcome

The majority of skeletal lesions and the associated functional disability occur within the first decade of life. The implication is that the window of time for preventative therapies is narrow. Likewise, therapeutic interventions must be tailored to where the patient is in the natural history of the disease (i.e., progressive disease young versus established disease older subjects). These findings have implications for prognosis, the timing and type of therapy, and the development of trials of new therapies and their interpretation.