The only three approaches that have shown any value at all have been X-ray treatment, surgery, and enzymes (Xiaflex). Each have their direct and indirect costs and all three are heavily dependent upon the skill and knowledge of the medical practitioner providing the treatment.

There is less risk from the X-ray treatment than from sunbathing or living in a major city and breathing in the exhaust fumes. The cost varies widely. My first treatment in Essen, Germany as a US citizen cost me 400 euros. If you live in the USA and do not have good medical coverage the trip to Germany is a good investment in your health and well being. It becomes a matter of priorities. People seem to be willing to spend $30,000 on a new car but are unwilling to spend over a $1000 on medical treatments.

X-ray treatments seem best at slowing the progression of the disease rather than in halting it completely or reversing the symptoms. The earlier one gets the treatment the better the likely results.

Xiaflex does work but it is prohibitively expensive at this time. Figure $3800 for a single dose plus another $300-500 for the doctor who injects it. My own experience was that it is less effective than NA and has a much longer recovery time. For nodules though it is the best option available at this time. A single dose can be injected into multiple nodules so it could have a significant benefit in terms of reducing their size and the impact they are having on mobility.

The insurance companies only cover contractions but the FDA has approved the drug for general use so if you are willing to foot the bill yourself it is something you can buy through your treating physician. I would strongly recommend finding someone who has a track record with both the disease and treating it with the Xiaflex even if it means traveling across the country or to another country.

My own course of treatment was delayed by nearly a year as a result of misinformation provided by my doctor at the time, Dr. Dawn Motyka, who recommended accupuncture and saline injections. It delayed my X-ray treatment which was very effective in slowing the progression of the disease in my hands. I see the same downside to the wishful thinking about ointments and food supplements as curatives to a genetic disorder. Do these in addition to the treatments that have been proven effective for thousands of people but not instead of getting treated.

Edited 10/11/11 18:07

I found some old info on this condition, if anyone care to research it further is pubisized in these:

Dr. WRIGHT'S BOOK OF NUTRITIONAL THERAPY, 1982 p 129 "A case of bursitis and Dupuytren's Contractures"

-BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL ,VOL 2 August 23, 1952 p 446 " Dupuytrens' contractures" by Dr. Gibson, H.R.B.

-GERIATRICS ,vol 23 October 1968 p92 "New sigh for incipient Diabetes" by Dr. Leake, Chauncey D.

-BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, JULY 26 1952 P 232 "Dupuytren's Contractures" by Dr. Ross, James A.

THE HEART AND VITAMIN E, (New Canaan, Conn: Keats Publishing 1977 p 125 "Scar tissue and Collegenosis"



basically they say more than 90% of people with Dupuytren's contractures have abnormal glucose tolerance test, a form of diabetes, and Dr wright treated the patient with 2000 ui of vitamin E a day up to a year until the patient was pain free and the scar tissues were almost gone, of course he had to take other suplements for the bursitis and change his diet to avoid refined sugar and flour, eat whole food and vegetables. I found this book very helpfull and although it may not help everybody, it certainly doesn't hurt trying, vitamin E helps a lot more than it harms, the only known side effects are thining of the blood wich makes easier to bleed.
I'm not saying to go ahead and do this, but I would research it further if I had no where else to turn. Good luck.

Hi 2bornot2b:
this literature is quite old and difficult to retrieve. Do you have copies that could be published or provided to interested users of this forum?

With regard to Wright: this is just an anecdotal story, no proof of efficiency. Vitamin E is not generally effective for Dupuytren's.

Also, so far no diet whatsoever has proven to be effective for Dupuytren's, although many diets claim to be effective, even contradicting ones. Therefore diets are NOT recommened for treating Dupuytren's. The fact that many people with Dupuytren's suffer from diabetes may be related to the typically older age of Dupuytren's patients. Diabetes is not a risk factor for Dupuytren's, e.g. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21473442. But having diabetes for a longer period of time might affect the connective tissue and might possibly worsen Dupuytren's. An interesting, different aspect of this paper is that you might conclude that 29% of the control group in India had signs of Dupuytren's).

Acupucture does not cure Dupuytren's either. In individual cases it might help reducing pain. Everyone is different and if it helps why not use it. But more likely it's a waste of time and money.

Wolfgang

2bornot2b:

---

I found some old info on this condition, if anyone care to research it further is pubisized in these:

Dr. WRIGHT'S BOOK OF NUTRITIONAL THERAPY, 1982 p 129 "A case of bursitis and Dupuytren's Contractures"

-BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL ,VOL 2 August 23, 1952 p 446 " Dupuytrens' contractures" by Dr. Gibson, H.R.B.

-GERIATRICS ,vol 23 October 1968 p92 "New sigh for incipient Diabetes" by Dr. Leake, Chauncey D.

-BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, JULY 26 1952 P 232 "Dupuytren's Contractures" by Dr. Ross, James A.

THE HEART AND VITAMIN E, (New Canaan, Conn: Keats Publishing 1977 p 125 "Scar tissue and Collegenosis"



basically they say more than 90% of people with Dupuytren's contractures have abnormal glucose tolerance test, a form of diabetes, and Dr wright treated the patient with 2000 ui of vitamin E a day up to a year until the patient was pain free and the scar tissues were almost gone, of course he had to take other suplements for the bursitis and change his diet to avoid refined sugar and flour, eat whole food and vegetables. I found this book very helpfull and although it may not help everybody, it certainly doesn't hurt trying, vitamin E helps a lot more than it harms, the only known side effects are thining of the blood wich makes easier to bleed.
I'm not saying to go ahead and do this, but I would research it further if I had no where else to turn. Good luck.

Edited 12/30/20 18:10

Hello,
Frist thanks for sharing information.Yes, I will let you know if there is any improvement in my condition, although I expect it to take several months, judging from the anecdotal entries on this forum. I appreciate Wolf's statements about "unproven" treatment. I would not expect a simple treatment with enzymes to be researched due to the inexpensive nature of the treatment, and the lack of research funding due to there not being any real profit to the drug companies.

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Hi
I have had great success using Bio-Oil a cheap scar oil which instantly takes away the pain and tightness when I rub it in for 2 mins or so at night. I have 2 nodules and a dimple and a bit of cord (seems to have reduced) but full flexibility.

Maybe not a cure but I only need to use it once every 2 wks now. It's been 2 yrs now and I only started rubbing oil in the last 4 mths or so. I feel so relieved this has helped me so much. Try it and find out for yourself. Good luck. Liz