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Dercuma disease (Latin adipositas dolorosa, adiposis dolorosa) is a type of rare skin disease described by Francis Xavier Dercum in 1892. It is characterized by numerous painful subcutaneous lipomas. It most often affects postmenopausal women.
Dercum's diseaseis a chronic, progressive skin disease of unknown origin that is rare and diagnosed in clinical practice. The disease is most common among obese postmenopausal women. In the case of men, Dercum's disease is much less common, about 16 percent. in adulthood.
Dercum disease: symptoms
Dercum disease is characterized by the presence of multiple painful lipomas in the subcutaneous tissue of various parts of the body, most often the trunk and limbs.Lipomasfusiform cells appear around the nape, back, shoulders and arms, around the armpits, groin and thighs. The patient's silhouette may take a deformed shape, e.g. pseudo-atletes. Subcutaneous tumors can be of different sizes and are covered with unchanged skin. Their structure is soft and they can be moved against the ground. Nodular changes cause pressure, which causes significant pain. Inflammatory cytokines, in particular tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), are very important in the pathogenesis of Dercum's disease. The causes of pain are disorders of the autonomic nervous system.
Dercum disease: diagnosis
The diagnosis of Dercum's disease according to Brodovski takes place when four clinical features are established:
- painful lipomas, the number and size of which increase over time,
- generalized obesity,
- weakness, increased fatigue,
- emotional disorders in the form of depression, emotional instability or neurological disorders, e.g. epilepsy, dementia.
According to the current diagnostic criteria, according to the WHO definition, the diagnosis of Dercum's disease is sufficient for the presence of lipomas, the pressure of which causes pain and a feeling of weakness.
Dercum disease: treatment
In the case of painful lesions, surgical treatment is performed - excision. Sometimes the nature of the tumor allows a small incision to be madeand squeezing out the lipoma with your fingers. Some doctors use the method of liposuction of the lipoma. After removing large tumors, it is necessary to perform body shaping operations.