Osteonecrosis: Cape wine as an aetiological agent

Ischaemic necrosis of bone, particularly of the femoral head appears to be an increasing cause of musculoskeletal disability in relatively young people (Hungerford 1981). The disease is usually progressive, resulting in the destruction of major weight-bearing joints requiring arthrodesis or arthroplasty. A decade ago it was hoped that joint replacement would solve most of these problems, however, failure of such arthroplasties have often been associated with catastrophic consequences (Chandler 1979)