Treatment effectiveness for Dupuytren’s needs documentation
Progress into new territory requires an open mind: beware conformity; examine failure; engage outsiders, and be aware of undocumented claims. This interesting report of an injection treatment for Dupuytren’s would be worth considering if published in an independent peer reviewed format rather than on the manufacturer’s web site: http://www.dupuytrenfoundation.org/DupPDFs/2001_Beller.pdf
Rock Climbing and Dupuytren’s – an interesting analysis
Dupuytren’s is an inherited systemic disorder of either the threshold or the feedback inhibition of the biology of scar formation, contracture and maturation. It is not spontaneous, but triggered in specific areas having the common characteristic of being subjected to repeated high shearing or stretching forces: palmar fascia, plantar fascia, shoulder capsule, tunica albuginea of […]
Pregnancy, Dupuytren’s and Relaxin
Relaxin is a natural hormone which does many things and normally increases during pregnancy. It has been shown to have a range of antifibrotic actions: it inhibits collagen synthesis, increases collagenase activity, inhibits the profibrotic factors TGFß and Interleukin1-ß, and prevents fibroblast differentiation into myofibroblasts. How does it work? Is Dupuytren’s related to low relaxin […]
To understand Dupuytren’s, first understand women.
Is Dupuytren’s a tumor – an independent growth, or is it a reaction of normal tissues to a stimulus? Is a woman one person or several people sharing the same body? This paper answers both questions. Every female human has two X chromosomes, one from each parent, but in any individual cell, only one X […]
Fasciotomy versus fasciectomy for Dupuytren’s
Fasciectomy and fasciotomy were compared in this study with some interesting observations. Initially after procedure, fasciotomy was better than fasciectomy in straightening fingers, but this advantage was lost over time as fasciotomy had earlier recurrences than fasciectomy. Fasciectomy had better results at correcting PIP joint contractures, both early and late. Recovery time was longer and […]
Partial Fasciectomy for Dupuytren’s
Dupuytren’s patients need two things: first, a way to prevent disease progression and recurrence; second, the simplest, safest way to straighten fingers bent by Dupuytren’s. While working and waiting on the first, there are choices for the second. One of these is limited or partial fasciectomy, which has the advantage of quick recovery and low […]
TGF-ß2 and Dupuytren’s
What if Dupuytren’s is due to slightly abnormal levels of a normal hormone, protein or other molecule in the system? If so, one of the most likely suspects would be Transforming Growth Factor Beta Two: TGF-ß2. This protein is part of the autocrine system (a chemical instant messaging system which lets individual cells communicate with […]
Deformity, aggressiveness and severity of Dupuytren’s
When is the most effective time to treat Dupuytren’s and what is the best treatment? These are not easy questions. Dupuytren’s responds differently and recurs differently in different people: starting with the same deformity (how bent the fingers are), people who do worse are described as having “aggressive” Dupuytren’s. Severity is a combination of the […]
Monkey model for Dupuytren’s
An experimental monkey model of Dupuytren’s Disease was performed to confirm or refute the microtrauma hypothesis of Dupuytren’s. The outcome: the reaction to rupture of the palmar fascia produced lesions identical to those of early Dupuytren’s, although did not lead to contractures during the period of study. The conclusion was that trauma is not the […]
Nice Overview of Dupuytren Disease
Time to pause and look at the big picture. Here is a balanced overview of the history, biology, etiology and epidemiology of Dupuytren Disease: http://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2003_Thurston.pdf
