DarrellC:

---

In my case, there absolutely No Question that alcohol has an effect. If I over consume (maybe 2 beers and 2 glasses of wine) I will feel it the next day. My contracture will feel like it is pulsating. It also appears to me that consumption speeds up the progression. Unfortunately, not consuming does not have the reverse affect.

All this make me feel like the dupuytrens has something to do with the function of the liver or the digestive system or both. I would really like to find a way to modify my diet to counteract the disease. Anyone had any luck in the this area?

Recent research in the Netherlands indicates that already 1 glass of alcohol (wine or beer) per day makes a measurable difference for Dupuytren's. I only heard that by verbal communication, the paper is still in the publishing process. I guess it's not an immediate effect but a longer term one. After a severe gout attack I myself completely stopped drinking alcohol and haven't seen a improvement of my Dupuytren's. But it's stable and maybe that's the achievement already.

Wolfgang

Edited 05/29/13 14:15

wach:

---

Recent research in the Netherlands indicates that already 1 glass of alcohol (wine or beer) per day makes a measurable difference for Dupuytren's. I only heard that by verbal communication, the paper is still in the publishing process. I guess it's not an immediate effect but a longer term one. After a severe gout attack I myself completely stopped drinking alcohol and haven't seen a improvement of my Dupuytren's. But it's stable and maybe that's the achievement already.

Wolfgang

Hi Julie,

NA (and collagenase) are not suitable for all Dupuytren's conditions. The ideal case for NA and collagenase is a contracture of the base joint (also called the MCP joint) caused by a clearly visable and palpable cord in the palm. Generally NA and collagenase work well when the contracture is caused by one strong cord. If it is caused by several small and deeply buried cords or by a nodule then surgery might be the better choice.

There is no rule based on affected joints alone. The results of NA for the middle joint (= PIP joint) are usually not as good as for the base joint, i.e. the disease will probably be coming back earlier. Yet the same is true for surgery. Middle joints are generally more difficult to treat.

I myself had the middle joint of my pinkie contracted. My doctor also suggested surgery as the best means. Wanting to avoid surgery I had collgenase injected. I wasn't a good candidate for that, it was more off label, but I tried it anyway. It didn't get myfinger straight but I achieved some improvement. I wore a night splint for about a year. When I stopped using it the contracture seemed to return to the initial state fairly quickly. I am fighting back by wearing the splint one week per month and that seems to do the trick so far (now 1.5 years after treatment). What I want to say is that NA might be possible but might require an experienced doctor and results might not be great, yet there are means to maintain the improvement.

Wolfgang

juliebeesley:

---

I asked my hand specialist yesterday about the effects of alcohol on DC & he said it makes no difference, but I too feel more stiffness in my hand after drinking. It seems odd that my doctor said that considering the high prevalence among old alcoholic men?
I have a small nodule on the small joint of my RH pinkie with about a ten percent contraction. My doctor said that nodules located on the small joint i.e. the joint in the middle of the finger as opposed to the large joint a the base of the finger, are more problematic and the wait and see approach does not apply for these nodules. He recommended surgery as early intervention is best for my condition. He is strongly against NA!
Has anyone else heard of a difference in treatment recommendations depending on which joint the nodule is located?

Edited 05/30/13 09:04

This is a disease that seems to come and go of its own accord and it is hard to pin down any single universally applicable trigger. The genetic link seems to be the strongest and there do seem to be connections with alcoholism.

The paper mentioned will be interesting to read. I have DD in both hands and do not notice a difference between days when I have several glasses of wine and days that I do not. I do not have any joint involvement. The study referred to earlier in this thread suggests that alcohol may have an affect but not in all people.

This seems to point to a number of different types of disease.