FDA approves Collagenase for Dupuytren’s
Collagenase (Xiaflex) has been approved by the FDA for treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture, after years of intensive laboratory and clinical trials. Collagenase enzymatic fasciotomy is more similar to needle fasciotomy than to either open fasciotomy or fasciectomy in terms of rapid recovery and low complication rate. Compared to needle release, collagenase enzymatic fasciotomy should eventually […]
Dupuytren’s Genes
The hunt is on for the genetic basis of Dupuytren’s. A interesting analysis of the chromosome patterns found in Dupuytren’s tissue found a variety of genetic abnormalities and the unexpected finding that these variations were not found in the skin but were seen in areas of palmar fascia not usually involved with Dupuytren’s. (full text: […]
Luck and Dupuytren’s
Needle aponeurotomy for Dupuytren’s is not that new. It’s a new twist on the very first operation described for Dupuytren’s, percutaneous fasciotomy, which was performed by Cooper years before Dupuytren’s famous presentation. Adams wrote extensively about his results with percutaneous fasciotomy for Dupuytren’s in the late 1800s. Before Lermusiaux began using a needle for percutaneous […]
ß Catenin, Transforming Factor ß and Dupuytren’s
The physical changes associated with Dupuytren’s are similar to the process which heals open wounds through contraction and collagen production. Thanks to sophisticated laboratory research, the molecular controls for this process are beginning to be understood. See http://multimedia.mcb.harvard.edu/anim_innerlife.html for an amazing animation of how molecular cellular controls act like tiny physical machines. In Dupuytren’s, two […]
A Sampling of Patient Information Brochures on Dupuytren’s
What do health care providers think you should know or want to know about Dupuytren’s? Here is a sampling of patient information materials from the government http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_NHS-ptinfo.pdf, http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_OBS-ptinfo.pdf, organizations of hand surgeons http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_AAHS-ptinfo.pdf, http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_ASSH-ptinfo.pdf, http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_BSSH-ptinfo.pdf, individual physicians and hospitals http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_eHand-ptinfo.pdf, http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_KWO-ptinfo.pdf, http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2002_Hurst-ptinfo.pdf, http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_Lancashire-ptinfo.pdf and hand therapists http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2010_Kramer-ptinfo.pdf. Of course, a wide range of information is […]
