Dupuytren's Contracture

[rovingricey]

Apologies if there is already a thread for this but I couldn't find one.

My dad has Dupuytren's Contracture in his left hand. He's a builder and left-handed so we always assumed he had developed it because of his type of work.

However, now I am starting to get tender pads beneath the skin on both palms. The pads feel as if they are close to the joint where my index fingers meet the palms of my hand. It is starting to get very painful to use my hands for things like turning taps or peeling veg.

As usual my GP was not concerned and didn't want to do anything about it but I have asked to be referred to a rheumatologist to have this checked out. Since this is likely to take many weeks I wondered if any of you knew if there was a connection between Hypermobility Syndrome and Dupuytren's Contracture?

I have read that DC is a condition of the connective tissue so it would make sense to me if there was a relationship to JHS/EDS but I can't find much on the web about this. In Dupuytren's Contracture the palms develop tissues under the skin which thicken and shorten so that the tendons connected to the fingers cannot move freely.

When I first started complaining of hand pain I got checked for rheumatoid arthritis, which came back negative (this is before I got diagnosed with JHS by Prof G). I had then been thinking that it might be tenonitis or burstitis although no health professional has confirmed this. It's only when I saw my dad last week that I remembered the DC.

Please help me if you can!

[Eloise]

I don't know much about it - but on reading it does sound like a connective tissue thing likely to happen to people with EDS/HMS.

But, I was just reading my Pharmaceutical Journal which was talking about a new injection on the market that can release the cord of hardened tissue and could be an alternative to surgery. This sounds a good idea to me - as scar tissue is not great with EDS/HMS. It called Xiapex and here it the review from the European medicines agency: http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp? ... abled=true

[rovingricey]

Thanks Elouise, I will look into it.

My rehabilitation consultant insists that what is happening with my hands is a result of the finger joints subluxing repeatedly and I think I'll go along with that but I am going to keep reading up about the DC as well.

[crossfell]

Hi

I realise this is an old thread, but I just want to say that I have HMS/H-EDS (probably inherited from my Mum) and my Mum also has Dupuytrens Contracture! Both hands are affected and she's had to have both operated on. I've also wondered about the connection, as they are both diseases involving collagen defects. Like you though I can find no literature on the web about it and it was whilst searching for info that I came across your thread here.

I'm now 45 and so far have no signs of Dupuytrens, though my Mums didn't start until her mid fifties so it's definitely something I will keep a look out for.