The December 2017 Sixty Second Survey on Dupuytren Triggers was the most data-packed survey to date. This survey focused on a simple-sounding question: is the onset of Dupuytren disease triggered by an external event such as injury, physical activity, medication, or emotional stress? Almost 40 percent of those taking the survey believed that some event […]

Thirteen years ago, a doctor had bad Dupuytren contractures. He had been told that he needed surgery if he wanted to straighten his fingers. He didn’t want to take time off his practice for what might be a lengthy recovery after traditional surgery. He found a hand surgeon who was doing needle aponeurotomy – which had […]

Improving the Future of Dupuytren Care Right now, many people with mild Dupuytren biology do well after surgery or after Xiaflex – because most people have mild to moderate Dupuytren biology. The issue isn’t the patient with mild disease biology who will do well for a long time after any treatment. The issue is those […]

Turkey Day Update! Much has happened since the last Dupuytren Foundation report in July. The International Dupuytren Data Bank (IDDB) averages 100 new enrollees each month. We’re continuing to work out the complicated details of blood testing. If you haven’t enrolled yet, now is the time: http://DupStudy.com. Our international research committee continues to grow. So does […]

Dupuytren disease research questions and answers. Dupuytren advocacy is challenging. One challenge is that many people have never heard the words Dupuytren, or Ledderhose, or Peyronie, including many who have these problems. A larger challenge is that no one knows the root biology of Dupuytren/Ledderhose/Peyronie disease – how it starts, or how to make it […]

A recent study reported possible beneficial effects of caffeine on Dupuytren biology . There was 2011 study which reported similar results with forskolin, which affects the same cell chemistry as caffeine . Based on this, the possible use of caffeine was discussed in the Dupuytren Foundation blog in 2011 . Let’s look at two points in […]

Dupuytren disease advocacy faces many small challenges which collectively add up to a big challenge. Even the French word Dupuytren (“Doop-a-tren”) isn’t familiar to English speakers either in sound or spelling. It doesn’t even rhyme with any English word. The result is that the word Dupuytren is hard to remember, and often doesn’t register when people see […]

A hand surgery colleague just sent me hand pictures of a patient he had treated with needle aponeurotomy seven years ago. His patient recently had a recurrence and had an excellent outcome with repeat needle aponeurotomy. A great result, more impressive because things don’t always go as well. It’s an example of the ups and downs […]

My first Dupuytren palm nodule. What will to happen to me? Most Dupuytren disease starts as a nodule. Some nodules go away without any treatment. Some nodules develop minor cords and then seem to stop. Some nodules are the first sign of severe Dupuytren disease. Which is it going to be? Without a biomarker, we can […]