A series of comments on new research is on the new blog of The Dupuytren Foundation:

http://dupuytrenfoundation.blogspot.com/

Have a look, it's worth reading.

Wolfgang

Edited 12/06/09 18:03

Thanks for the link to the blog. I read every entry, BUT I could not get a single link to the research to open any article or research paper/abstract. Only one went to a website - Baylor University, but it did not find the research that had been cited.

It sounds like some good stuff is going on related the gene research. I am really interested in reading about it. I clicked on the link and it went no where to a blank page. I copied and pasted the URL address, clicked to go to that page and it went to a blank nothing also. Is there something else that I can try?

Flora

Wolfgang,

Thanks for the blog it is most interesting. I have a question. Is there any research that you know of discussing how they think DD started? Example sickle cell anemia started as the bodies defense against malaria. I ask this because it is just odd to me that being genetic it is such a strong gene that doesn't seem to die out. I have looked but have been unable to find any research about how it started.

Also, if this is genetic is it possible that all of us that have DD could be distantly related? I know that sounds weird but you have to wonder.

Thanks,

Lori

Edited 12/10/09 22:56

I don't think that anybody knows when Dupuytren's disease actually started. Some claim that it was long before the vikings. Though it does have a genetic component I am not sure whether we are all family. E.g. Japanese suffer from Dupuytren's with a fairly high prevalence. It can't have emerged from a few more or less recent immigrants. Before Japan had been isolated for hundreds of years.

My personal guess is that Dupuytren's is a healing process that gets out of control. The balance of healing and stopping the healing might generally be subtle and some people have (inherited) difficulties controlling it. At some point of time that must have developed but that might be very long ago and maybe independently in several areas of the world.

Interesting that we don't even know how the disease starts in the body. Typically Dupuytren's is diagnosed (and researched) only after at least nodules appeared. There are certainly earlier stages on a micro level but we don't know how they look like. One idea is that some sort of micro damage in the tissue just below the skin starts a healing process that eventually overshoots. But nobody really knows.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to the family!

Wolfgang

Quote:

---

Wolfgang,

Thanks for the blog it is most interesting. I have a question. Is there any research that you know of discussing how they think DD started? Example sickle cell anemia started as the bodies defense against malaria. I ask this because it is just odd to me that being genetic it is such a strong gene that doesn't seem to die out. I have looked but have been unable to find any research about how it started.

Also, if this is genetic is it possible that all of us that have DD could be distantly related? I know that sounds weird but you have to wonder.

Thanks,

Lori

---

Edited 12/11/09 10:09