Re: How many are we?

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I'm 53. I't really seems to vary person to person. Mine stated as a knuckle pad at around 46. Then nodules in the hand follows by ledderhose. Fist in the right foot and then the left about two years lates. Feet don't really bother me too much so I'meaving it alone. I stated taking the NAC about a year ago and they are less noticible from a feeling stanpoint. I,ve had 1 NA from Dr eaton about 3 years ago on my eft ring finger and it remains straight today.

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What dosage NAC do you take?

Re: How many are we?

Here is what NAC is, as quoted from the Dupuyren Society's website:

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC, also marketed under other brand names)
NAC has been in use for decades for treating immune and respiratory deficiencies. To our knowledge it is available in the U.S. as nutritional supplement. Recent research shows that NAC can also slow down or stop growth of Dupuytren tissue: Juergen Kopp et al. "N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine abrogates fibrogenic properties of fibroblasts isolated from Dupuytren's disease by blunting TGF-β signalling" J. Cell. Mol. Med. 10 (2006) pp. 157-165. Abstract and full article: NAC_link.

Above study is a laboratory study on Dupuytren cells, not a clinical study on patients. Yet this study indicates the possibility of NAC "providing a basis for a therapeutic strategy in Dupuytren's disease and other fibroproliferative disorders." Since publication of this study NAC has also been tested on patients. While the total number of patients is still too low for reliable statistics, first results are relatively promising, e.g. to avoid extension of Dupuytren to other areas after surgery or, in one case, a significant reduction of Ledderhose nodules.

Should this turn out a successful therapy it might eventually replace radiotherapy and complement surgery and NA. Long term effects need still to be researched and we would caution taking high dose antioxidants like NAC over a long period of time, like years (see e.g. JAMA_antioxidants ).

As no clinical data have been published yet (and probably won't be published because Juergen Kopp has moved on to another clinic and assignment) Dupuytren Society as an inital assessment collected data from patients who have taken or are taking NAC. For results see NAC data collection by Dupuytren Society.