Monckeberg's sclerosis

Monckeberg's sclerosis is a disease of unknown aetiology characterised by dystrophic calcification of the media of arteries. This condition is usually seen in the major lower limb arteries of elderly patients, and may also be seen in the head, neck and pelvis, especially the uterine arteries. Stenosis and atheroma may occur but the lumen usually remains patent, leading to "pipe-stem" rigidity.

• Mönckeberg's arteriosclerosis, is a condition that leads to the stiffening of the elastic layer of the arterial wall, but in contrast to intimal artery calcification, it does not obstruct the arterial lumen
  • the condition does not involve primarily the intimal layer of the artery, the lumen is kept open by the rigid media and, therefore, luminal narrowing is not a direct consequence
  • a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and peripheral artery obstruction
  • this condition is frequently related to glucose intolerance, aging, male gender, autonomic neuropathy, osteoporosis and, chronic renal failure
  • commonly occurs in peripheral arteries of the lower limbs where it is seen as "rail tracking" on incidental plain radiograph
    • medial artery calcification, as visualized by plain soft-tissue radiograms is a powerful and easily recognizable risk marker for markedly increased cardiovascular events unrelated to conventional risk factors (1,2)

Reference:

• (1) Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1996 Aug;16(8):978-83.
• (2) Couri CE et al. Mönckeberg's sclerosis - is the artery the only target of calcification?BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2005 Dec 12;5:34.