The Open Palm Technique for Dupuytren’s
The Open Palm Technique for Dupuytren’s contracture has advantages – lack of hematoma, lower incidence of sympathetic dystrophy. The classic McCash version of this procedure combines closure of zigzag finger incisions, leaving transverse palm wounds open. The Burkhalter version, developed by Dr. Mann, employs only transverse incisions in the palm and fingers, all of which […]
Dupuytren’s and Frozen shoulder
About one in six patients with frozen shoulder will also have Dupuytren’s disease and vice versa. Frozen shoulder has been called “Dupuytren’s of the shoulder”: the abnormal tissues are quite similar. However, they are different in other respects – for example, Dupuytren’s commonly recurs after surgical treatment, but frozen shoulder does not. This study demonstrates […]
Vascular cause of Dupuytren’s?
Diabetes, hypertension, stiff finger joints and Dupuytren’s: This study uses retinopathy as an index of vascular disease and suggests that small vessel disease, rather than the effect of blood sugar on collagen, is the link between diabetes and Dupuytren’s: http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/1986_Larkin_1218.pdf
A landmark advance in understanding Dupuytren’s
Two methods of investigating Dupuytren’s have been used: Demographic – family studies, associations with medications, activities, other diseases; and Biological – tissue analysis. The big biologic breakthrough came in 1972 when Gabbiani and others published two articles back to back findings on the biology of myofibroblasts:http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/1972_Gabbiani_719.pdfand the role of myofibroblasts in Dupuytren’s Disease:http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/1972_Gabbiani_1115.pdfWe need more […]
Smooth Muscle Actin in Dupuytren’s Contracture
The palmar fascia in Duputren’s contracture does not contract like a muscle: it’s more like the effect of an army of tiny rachets. Adjacent parallel strands of collagen are grabbed by myofibroblasts, which then shorten (“crimp”) lengthwise, pulling the strands to overlap more and more, and then gluing these strands together with crosslinks. Crimp, lock, […]
Dupuytren’s Foundation and Scripps Research
The Dupuytren’s Foundation http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org has officially partnered with Scripps research to establish a DNA bank of tissues affected by Dupuytren’s disease. This will be available to researchers interested in studying Dupuytren DNA. So far, 20 samples have been collected. If the gene is identified, progress toward acure will be greatly streamlined. Very exciting. Interested in […]
