Dercum's Disease PubMed MedLine References

This is a listing of the all the references I've found (so far) that discuss Dercum's disease or Adiposis Dolorosa or some aspect that might be of interest.   Sometimes there is only the title (typically of foreign language articles) because no abstract is available.  The Pub Med document number is included for reference. Web author comments are in blue (like this statement).  A few of the articles have links that allow you access the actual article.  Dr. Dercum's article (#64) and some other older ones have been recently added and can be found at the bottom of the list.


Entrez medline Query


#1    Humangenetik 1973 Mar 23;18(1):89-91

Autosomal dominant inheritance in adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease).

Cantu JM, Ruiz-Barquin E, Jimenez M, Castillo L, Macotela-Ruiz E

PMID: 4721343, UI: 73226373


#2    Am Fam Physician 1981 Nov;24(5):155-7

Dercum's disease: adiposis dolorosa.

Palmer ED

PMID: 7293909, UI: 82043245


#3     Vestn Khir 1969 Jun;102(6):123-4

[Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Ignat'ev AS, Ivanova IA

PMID: 5368795, UI: 70103590


#4     Klin Med (Mosk) 1976 Jun;54(6):119-21

[Hereditary form of Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Shamov IA

PMID: 972499, UI: 77010166


#5     Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 1982 Jun 19;126(25):1134-8

[Juxta-articular adipositas dolorosa and Dercum's disease].

[Article in Dutch]

van Weelden BM, Verzijlbergen JF, de Maat CE

PMID: 7110410, UI: 82272522


#6     Vrach Delo 1965 Aug;8:135-6

[Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Sipityi VI

PMID: 5870968, UI: 67021781


#7     Univ Mich Med Cent J 1967 Mar-Apr;33(2):79-81

Adiposis dolorosa.

Mella BA

PMID: 6041745, UI: 67251805


#8     Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 1986 Aug 20;106(23):1820-2

[Dercum's disease (adiposis dolorosa). A forgotten entity]?

[Article in Norwegian]

Olsen B

PMID: 3764857, UI: 87019794


#9     Vestn Khir 1983 Aug;131(8):58-9

[Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Greida BP, Tkachenko TA

PMID: 6649283, UI: 84074706


#10     Klin Med (Mosk) 1970 Jul;48(7):133-6

[Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Gadzhiev KhE, Shamov IA, Magomedov ShM

PMID: 5533253, UI: 71112772


#11     An Otorrinolaringol Ibero Am 1996;23(4):435-40

[Adiposis dolorosa].

[Article in Spanish]

Pardal Refoyo JL

Servicio de Otorrinolaringologia, Hospital Virgen de la Concha, Insalud, Zamora.

Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease) is a rare fat-tissue malady most frequently presenting in middle-aged women as fatty lumps in the body. Its etiology and pathogenesis isn't known. Two female patients are reported who had symptomatic adiposis dolorosa (32 and 62-year-old).

PMID: 8967567, UI: 97053090


#12     Ann Plast Surg 1994 Dec;33(6):664-8

Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease): 10-year follow-up.

Brodovsky S, Westreich M, Leibowitz A, Schwartz Y

Department of Plastic Surgery, Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, Tzrifin, Israel.

Adiposis dolorosa is a disease characterized by painful, subcutaneous fatty tumors. This disorder usually occurs in obese, postmenopausal women and is associated with weakness and mental disturbances such as depression, confusion, lethargy, and dementia. The cause is unknown, and there is no specific treatment. Pain may be relieved by steroids, intravenous lidocaine, or analgesics. Surgical treatment consists of excision or liposuction of the painful masses. We present two cases of adiposis dolorosa in men, with a follow-up of more than 10 years.

PMID: 7880063, UI: 95185782

[It's predominantly a disease affecting women, and they do their follow-up on two men!]


#13     Klin Med (Mosk) 1970 Mar;48(3):134-6

[Case of Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Shutov AA, Bazhina LS

PMID: 5452160, UI: 70268050


#14     Ugeskr Laeger 1992 Jun 29;154(27):1914-5

[Liposuction in adiposis dolorosa (morbus Dercum)--an effective therapy].

[Article in Danish]

Brorson H, Aberg M, Fagher B

Publication Types:

Comments:

PMID: 1509554, UI: 92376921


#15     Vestn Dermatol Venerol 1984 Feb;(2):41-2

[Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Kapkaev RA, Akovbian VA, Rumi TK

PMID: 6720070, UI: 84198509


#16     Klin Khir 1978 May;(5):81-2

[Familial form of Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Pirozhenko VV, Demirtasheva NG

PMID: 661092, UI: 78197676


#17     Clin Orthop 1986 Apr;205:251-253

Dercum's disease (adiposis dolorosa). A case report and review of the literature.

Bonatus TJ, Alexander AH

Dercum's disease consists of multiple, painful lipomata and occurs in obese, postmenopausal women. A 52-year-old obese woman complained of multiple painful "lumps" in the extremities. The diagnosis of Dercum's disease (adiposis dolorosa) was established by excisional biopsy of four tumors. There is no effective treatment for this condition. Surgical excision, in this case, relieved the patient's symptoms locally, but after one year the painful lipomata had appeared at other sites. Case reports of this condition were not found in a review of the orthopedic literature.

PMID: 3698384, UI: 86190795

[Imagine if these doctors expanded their review outside of the orthopedic literature...]


#18     Braz J Med Biol Res 1992;25(9):889-893

Hormonal and metabolic study of a case of adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease).

Pimenta WP, Paula FJ, Dick-de-Paula I, Piccinato CE, Monteiro CM, Brandao-Neto J, Kettelhut IC, Foss MC

Departamento de Clinica Medica, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brasil.

A case of a 43-year-old nonobese woman with adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease) is reported. Muscle glucose uptake and oxidation before and after ingestion of 75 g of glucose were similar to control group values, although a greater insulin release (16,578 vs 6,242 +/- 1,136 microU/3 h) occurred simultaneously. In vitro studies of abdominal normal and painful subcutaneous adipose tissue of the patient revealed lower responsiveness to norepinephrine and lack of response to the antilipolytic effect of insulin in the painful adipose tissue (0.98 vs 1.43 microM FFA/10(6) cells at 5.0 microM of norepinephrine). The disease was not correlated with the HLA system and there were no alterations in hormonal secretion at the pituitary, adrenal, gonadal, and thyroid levels. These findings indicate the presence of peripheral insulin resistance in this patient with adiposis dolorosa.

PMID: 1342834, UI: 94115294


#19     Sov Med 1969;32(5):137-8

[Dercum's syndrome].

[Article in Russian]

Chebyshev NS, Temnova GI

PMID: 5379364, UI: 70153387


#20     Ugeskr Laeger 1991 Dec 9;153(50):3564

[A case of adiposis dolorosa--Dercum's disease].

[Article in Danish]

Jensen JJ, Kiilerich S

Medicinsk afdeling F, Kovenhavns Amts Sygehus i Glostrup.

Adiposis dolorosa or Dercum's disease consists of a painful progressive localized state of obesity with four cardinal symptoms: a) painful circumscribed or diffuse fatty deposits, b) generalized obesity in women usually of menopausal age, c) asthenia, weakness and frequently tendency to fatigue and d) mental phenomena including emotional instability, depression, epilepsy, mental confusion and true dementia. Only a few cases in men have been described. The pain may be treated with intravenous administration of lignocaine or oral mexitil while no causal treatment is known. An illustrative case is reported.

PMID: 1776200, UI: 92132944


#21     Pain 1987 Jan;28(1):77-80

Dercum's disease (adiposis dolorosa). Treatment of the severe pain with intravenous lidocaine.

Petersen P, Kastrup J

Dercum's disease (adiposis dolorosa) is associated with very painful subcutaneous fatty deposits normally localized to the lower extremities in which pain treatment is usually unsuccessful. Two patients with Dercum's disease have been treated repeatedly with intravenous lidocaine for several months each time resulting in immediate pain relief for 8 and 25 days respectively. Placebo infusions did not provide pain relief. Hereafter, the patients were treated with peroral mexiletine and again had complete pain relief. We conclude that intravenous lidocaine or peroral mexiletine may be an effective analgesic treatment in patients with Dercum's disease.

Publication Types:

PMID: 3822497, UI: 87145779


#22     J Am Podiatry Assoc 1979 Jun;69(6):389-91

Dercum's disease.

Lemont H, Picciotti J, Pruzansky J

PMID: 448038, UI: 79194870


#23     Isr J Med Sci 1983 Sep;19(9):858-9

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa--a neglected disease.

Nahir AM, Schapira D, Scharf Y

PMID: 6643030, UI: 84060886


#24     Klin Med (Mosk) 1970 Jul;48(7):115-8

[Status dysraphicus in Dercum's syndrome].

[Article in Russian]

Emanuel' VIa

PMID: 5533247, UI: 71112764


#25     Klin Med (Mosk) 1971 Sep;49(9):149-50

[2 cases of Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Ignat'ev AS, Levashov IuN

PMID: 5112694, UI: 72024642


#26     Ann Med Psychol (Paris) 1984 May;142(5):730-7

[What remains of Dercum's disease]?

[Article in French]

Pouliquen A, Baize P, Lebosse J, Fellion G

Publication Types:

PMID: 6391328, UI: 85070648


#27     J Am Acad Dermatol 1986 Aug;15(2 Pt 2):383-385

Long-standing pain relief of adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease) after intravenous infusion of lidocaine.

Juhlin L

A 60-year-old woman with adiposis dolorosa for 20 years was treated with repeated intravenous infusions of lidocaine. Partial relief of pain in the legs was obtained after 1.3 gm. A dose of 5.2 gm lidocaine given for 4 days was needed for complete pain relief. The effect lasted for 3 weeks, and then the pain gradually returned. The patient has now been given two additional treatments with complete pain relief for 2 months. The mechanism of the effect remains unknown.

PMID: 3734188, UI: 86279023


#28     Patol Fiziol Eksp Ter 1972 Jan-Feb;16(1):47-51

[Pathophysiological characteristics of adipose tissue in Dercum's syndrome].

[Article in Russian]

Leites SM, Davtian NK, Emanuel' VIa

PMID: 5040062, UI: 72225557


#29     Plast Reconstr Surg 1990 Feb;85(2):289-292

Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease): liposuction as an effective form of treatment.

DeFranzo AJ, Hall JH Jr, Herring SM

Department of Surgery, Bowman Gray School of Medicine.

The clinical picture of adiposis dolorosa makes a lasting impression on the examining physician. The patient is typically an obese, asthenic woman who appears to have a low pain threshold. She has an unusual distribution of fatty tumors, and her complaint of pain in these tumors seems out of proportion to the physical findings. Alcoholism, emotional instability, and depression are common, and narcotic pain medicine is frequently requested. The patient is easily dismissed as a malingerer after a brief examination. However, liposuctioning of the painful fatty tumors appears to be both practical and effective. While adiposis dolorosa is an unusual disease, it is one that plastic surgeons can recognize and treat.

Comments:

PMID: 2300638, UI: 90139327


#30     Int J Obes 1982;6(4):351-357

Intravenous lidocaine for the treatment of intractable pain of adiposis dolorosa.

Atkinson RL

Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease) is a syndrome of painful adipose tissue which occurs most often in post-menopausal women and is associated with obesity, asthenia, and emotional disturbances. The etiology is uncertain, but is probably multifactorial. Numerous treatments to relieve the pain have generally been unsuccessful. A patient with adiposis dolorosa was treated with intravenous infusions of lidocaine over a two-year period. Relief from pain lasted from two to 12 months after each infusion. A single-blind placebo infusion did not relieve the pain. Lidocaine infusions did not relieve the pain of diabetic neuropathy or of angina in this patient. The mechanism of relief of pain of adiposis dolorosa by lidocaine is uncertain, but previously reported central effects of lidocaine suggest that alterations in the central nervous system may be responsible.

Publication Types:

PMID: 7129748, UI: 83029953


#31     Sov Med 1989;(2):111-3

[Dercum's disease].

[Article in Russian]

Glotov NF, Vasin VA, Kiriukhina GA

PMID: 2727773, UI: 89267157


#32     Wiad Lek 1977 Nov 1;30(21):1699-702

[Case of Dercum's disease].

[Article in Polish]

Gaertner H, Guminska M, Gurda M, Ziemichod J

PMID: 595598, UI: 78076508


#33     J Dermatol Surg Oncol 1989 Dec;15(12):1294-1296

Surgical amelioration of Dercum's disease: a report and review.

Held JL, Andrew JA, Kohn SR

Department of Medicine, Nashoba Community Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts.

Dercum's disease, or adiposis dolorosa, is a rare condition characterized by painful lipomas, usually on the extremities of obese postmenopausal women. At present, there are no treatments known to alter the progressive course of this often incapacitating disease. Surgical intervention, while not preventive, is useful in ameliorating local symptoms of pain. We report a characteristic 15-year course of Dercum's disease.

Publication Types:

PMID: 2687341, UI: 90078826


#34     Acta Derm Venereol 1996 Mar;76(2):170-171

Is EMLA effective in Dercum's disease?

Reggiani M, Errani A, Staffa M, Schianchi S

Publication Types:

PMID: 8740288, UI: 96312717

[NOTE:  EMLA stands for a Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics - i.e., pain killers]


#35     Pediatriia 1978;(1):76-7

[Case of Dercum's disease in a 10-year-old child].

[Article in Russian]

Danilov LN

PMID: 634721, UI: 78136382


#36     Int J Obes 1986;10(4):277-81

A case of adiposis dolorosa: lipid metabolism and hormone secretion.

Taniguchi A, Okuda H, Mishima Y, Nagata I, Oseko F, Hara M, Otsu A, Kataoka K, Kono T, Imura H

The present report describes a 53-year-old non-obese man with adiposis dolorosa whose pain was dramatically relieved by the intravenous injection of lidocaine. The patient showed a paradoxical response of growth hormone to thyrotropin-releasing hormone. In addition, in-vitro studies on adipose tissue metabolism revealed the reduced glucose conversion to neutral glycerides in painful adipose tissue. These abnormalities may be related in some ways to the pathogenesis of this disorder.

PMID: 3771092, UI: 87032645


#37     Lakartidningen 1996 Apr 10;93(15):1430-1436

[Dercum's disease. Fatty tissue rheumatism caused by immune defense reaction]?

This is a very thorough overview article!

[English Translation]      [Article in Swedish]

Brorson H, Fagher B

Plastikkirurgiska kliniken, Universitetssjukhuset MAS, Malmo.

Publication Types:

Personal Name as Subject:

PMID: 8667732, UI: 96248789


#38     Acta Derm Venereol 1986;66(4):337-339

The regulation of subcutaneous blood flow in patient with Dercum's disease.

Skagen K, Petersen P, Kastrup J, Norgaard T

Dercum's disease or adiposis dolorosa is a poorly understood disorder with painful fatty deposits in the skin localized to the lower extremities. The etiology is unknown. In such a patient the mechanisms of local regulation of blood flow in subcutaneous tissue was investigated by the local 133Xenon washout technique. The patient was reinvestigated one week after treatment with intravenous lidocaine. The local vasoconstrictor response to increase in venous transmural pressure was not present in this patient, but reappeared after lidocaine treatment. Autoregulation of blood flow in subcutaneous tissue was present before as well as after lidocaine treatment. It seems likely that a pain elicited increase in sympathetic activity in the vasoconstrictor fibres abolished the normal vasoconstrictor response to increase in venous transmural pressure. The mechanism of pain relief after intravenous lidocaine infusion is uncertain, but central as well as peripheral mechanisms may be considered.

PMID: 2430406, UI: 87044798


#39     Vrach Delo 1968 Jul;7:132-4

[Dercum's syndrome of infectious-allergic genesis].

[Article in Russian]

Nikolaichuk LV, Razuvaeva AA

PMID: 5744373, UI: 70157138


#40     Sov Med 1973 Dec;36(12):122

[Dercum's disease after cerebro-cranial injuries].

[Article in Russian]

Greida BP, Mudrik VA

PMID: 4779355, UI: 74103673


#41     Arthritis Rheum 1987 Dec;30(12):1436-7

Improvement of juxtaarticular adiposis dolorosa by fat suction.

Scheinberg MA, Diniz R, Diamant J

Publication Types:

PMID: 3435575, UI: 88134439


#42     Biochem Soc Trans 1996 May;24(2):418-22

Immunological manipulation of adiposity.

Flint DJ

Hannah research Institute, Ayr, Scotland, U.K.

Publication Types:

PMID: 8736775, UI: 96346285


#43     Ann Rheum Dis 1990 Jun;49(6):403-4

Liposuction in the treatment of juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa.

De Silva M, Earley MJ

Department of Rheumatology, Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil.

Two patients are presented who had symptomatic relief of juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa of the knees after liposuction. Liposuction is recommended for the treatment of this condition.

PMID: 2383065, UI: 90343437


#44     Ann Rheum Dis 1979 Oct;38(5):479-82

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa: what is it? Report of 2 cases.

Eisman J, Swezey RL

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa may be defined as the localised accumulation of painful fat near joints, most commonly the knee. It exists as a separate entity that must be distinguished from other causes of knee pain. We present 2 patients with this condition and review the literature. Various approaches to therapy are discussed. A classification of painful fat near joints is proposed.

PMID: 518149, UI: 80086633


#45     Anesth Analg 1976 Mar;55(2):257-259

Management of intractable pain in adiposis dolorosa with intravenous administration of lidocaine.

Iwane T, Maruyama M, Matsuki M, Ito Y, Shimoji K

Intractable pain in a patient with adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease) was treated by IV administration of lidocaine (200 to 400 mg). Relief was maximum 20 minutes after the end of drug infusion and persisted for over 10 hours. Toxicity was minimal. Slow EEG waves which appeared during drug administration disappeared within 20 minutes.

PMID: 943987, UI: 76158850


#46     Arch Dermatol 1991 Feb;127(2):231-3

Corticosteroid-induced juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa.

Greenbaum SS, Varga J

Department of Dermatology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107.

Long-term treatment with high doses of corticosteroids leads to the development of truncal obesity and focal fatty deposition. These deposits characteristically are located on the face, the nuchal and truncal areas, and episternally, as well as in the mediastinum and epicardium. We studied a patient with juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa who had L-tryptophan-associated eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and was treated with high doses of prednisone. This is the first reported case of adiposis dolorosa occurring as a complication of corticosteroid treatment. Alterations of fat metabolism induced by corticosteroid excess may have played a role in the development of this unusual painful syndrome.

PMID: 1990989, UI: 91119441


#47     J Intern Med 1998 Mar;243(3):197-201

Liposuction in Dercum's disease: impact on haemostatic factors associated with cardiovascular disease and insulin sensitivity.

Berntorp E, Berntorp K, Brorson H, Frick K

Department of Coagulation Disorders, University of Lund, Malmo University Hospital, Sweden. erik.berntorp@medforsk.mas.lu.se

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of adipose tissue removal by liposuction on factors associated with increased risk of cardiovascular atherosclerotic disease within the coagulation and fibrinolytic system and glucose metabolism. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Liposuction was performed in 53 patients with Dercum's disease. The levels of fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor antigen (VWF:Ag) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 activity (PAI-1) were measured preoperatively, and 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 3 months postoperatively. In a subsample of 10 patients, insulin sensitivity was determined before and 2-4 weeks after surgery using the 2-h euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp technique. The study was performed as a single-centre study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Fibrinogen, PAI-1 and VWF:Ag levels, and glucose uptake before and after removal of adipose tissue. RESULTS: Weight reduction was sustained throughout the follow-up period with a mean decrease from 90.7 to 86.6 kg (P < 0.0001). There was a slight increase in levels of coagulation factors 2 and 4 weeks postoperatively, probably in reaction to the surgical trauma. After 3 months the values had returned to preoperative levels except for PAI-1, which still showed a slight increase (P < 0.05). In the subsample of 10 patients, glucose uptake was improved (P < 0.05) from a short-term perspective after surgery. CONCLUSION: Surgical removal of adipose tissue, without change in lifestyle, does not seem to improve the levels of coagulation and fibrinolytic factors associated with cardiovascular atherosclerotic disease, whereas glucose takeup may be facilitated and insulin sensitivity increases from a short-term perspective.

PMID: 9627156, UI: 98288845


#48     Acta Derm Venereol 1971;51(4):243-50

Adiposis dolorosa associated with defects of lipid metabolism.

Blomstrand R, Juhlin L, Nordenstam H, Ohlsson R, Werner B, Engstrom J

PMID: 4105769, UI: 71289061


#49     Ter Arkh 1967 Sep;39(9):112-4

[Dercum's syndrome and diabetes mellitus in rheumatism].

[Article in Russian]

Nikolaichuk LV, Razuvaeva AA

PMID: 5611699, UI: 69159460


#50     Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 1987 Nov 30;107(33):2948-50

[Liposis dolorosa. Its own entity or the common denominator for other lipoma-based diseases]?

[Article in Norwegian]

Stormorken H

PMID: 3433266, UI: 88127680


#51     Cent Afr J Med 1967 Feb;13(2):36

Peculiarities in dermatology. Dercum's disease.

Kingsley HJ

PMID: 6044299, UI: 67257113


#52     Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi 1976;78(2):133-45

[A case of Dercum's syndrome with hysteria-like convulsions].

[Article in Japanese]

Ito N, Izumi T, Kamoi K, Iwane T, Ito S

PMID: 989911, UI: 77037137


#53     Zh Nevropatol Psikhiatr 1973;73(12):1800-6

[The Dercum syndrome--a diencephalic syndrome (a clinico-electoencephalographic study)].

[Article in Russian]

Emanuel' VIa, Skorynina IL

PMID: 4782243, UI: 74113775


#54     Lancet 1997 Aug 2;350(9074):334

A pain in the groin.

Harris K, Davies K, Dumont S, Stephenson BM

Department of Surgery, Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, UK.

A 64-year-old woman with Dercum's disease (adiposis dolorosa) attended the gynaecological clinic in February, 1996, with a 4-week history of lower left-sided abdominal and pelvic pain.  An ultrasound scan showed uterine fibroids and she underwent hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This did not relieve her symptoms and in July, 1996, she consulted her general practitioner with worsening pain.

PMID: 9251639, UI: 97395501


#55     Z Gesamte Inn Med 1974 Sep 1;29(17):726-8

[Case report on lipomatosis dolorosa].

[Article in German]

Schwerdtner U

PMID: 4446680, UI: 75087509


#56     Fysiatr Revmatol Vestn 1975 Apr;53(2):65-74

[Diseases of fatty tissue and fat metabolism disorders in rheumatological practice. II].

[Article in Czech]

Pavelka K, Muller W, Weber L

PMID: 1169206, UI: 75169275


#57     Clin Sci (Colch) 1991 Dec;81(6):793-798

Fat-cell heat production, adipose tissue fatty acids, lipoprotein lipase activity and plasma lipoproteins in adiposis dolorosa.

Fagher B, Monti M, Nilsson-Ehle P, Akesson B

Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Lund, Sweden.

  1. Gluteal adipose tissue was examined in 13 patients with generalized adiposis dolorosa, a clinical condition characterized by painful adiposity with a chronic intractable course. The total metabolic activity of fat cells, isolated by collagenase and suspended in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer with glucose and insulin, was assessed by the measurement of heat production at 37 degrees C using microcalorimetry.
  2. Fat cells were markedly enlarged; their metabolic activity expressed in terms of microW/g, but not in pW/cell, was significantly decreased when compared with both lean and weight-matched non-painful subjects. Both mean values were, however, significantly higher than in grossly obese subjects with similar mean cell size. Heat production as expressed per g of tissue, but not per cell, was inversely correlated with body mass index. One additional patient had unilateral disease, and fat cells from the painful side had a lower heat production than cells from the unaffected side.
  3. The fatty acid composition of adipose tissue, as determined by g.c., revealed a significantly increased proportion of monounsaturated (18:1 and 16:1) at the expense of saturated (14:0 and 18:0) fatty acids compared with healthy control subjects. The activity of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase was slightly, but not significantly, decreased.
  4. It is concluded that a metabolic pathogenetic factor cannot be ruled out in adiposis dolorosa. As the results do not explain the nature of the diffuse pain, further studies need to be performed.

PMID: 1662586, UI: 92111089


#58     J Hepatol 1997 Dec;27(6):1141

Interferon alfa-2b induced long-term relief of pain in two patients with adiposis dolorosa and chronic hepatitis C.

Gonciarz Z, Mazur W, Hartleb J, Machniak M, Bednarek I, Mazurek U, Wilczok T

Publication Types:

PMID: 9453446, UI: 98114191


#59     Int J Dermatol 1995 Jun;34(6):369-79

Dermatologic diseases and problems of women throughout the life cycle.

Brenner S, Politi Y

Department of Dermatology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Publication Types:

PMID: 7657432, UI: 95386280


#60     Clin Dermatol 1989 Oct-Dec;7(4):62-77

The nervous system and adipose tissue.

Dalziel K

Department of Dermatology, Queens Medical Center, University Hospital, Nottingham, United Kingdom.

Publication Types:

PMID: 2691052, UI: 90106405


#61     Clin Rheumatol 1987 Sep;6(3):446-8

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Report of 2 cases with good response to local corticosteroid injection.

Weinberger A, Wysenbeec AJ, Pinkhas J

Rheumatology Unit, Beilinson Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa, i.e., painful fatty deposits around the joint may occur in postmenopausal obese women. The association of the syndrome with osteoarthritis has been described. The present report describes 2 women suffering from rheumatoid arthritis with painful fatty deposits around the knees. Both responded to local injection of corticosteroid. The possible pathogenesis of the source of pain is discussed.

PMID: 3442969, UI: 88165831


#62     Ann Dermatol Venereol 1987;114(6-7):873-82

[Cutaneous lipoma and lipomatosis].

[Article in French]

Abensour M, Jeandel C, Heid E

Clinique Dermatologique, Hospices Civils, Strasbourg.

Publication Types:

PMID: 3314627, UI: 88047824


#63     Nippon Shonika Gakkai Zasshi 1971 Jan 1;75(1):30-8

[Fluctuation of lipid metabolism in the adipose tissue and its sensitivity to hormones in aging. 2. Effects of hormones on lipid metabolism in the adipose tissue in aging].

[Article in Japanese]

Takada H

PMID: 5102132, UI: 71133621


#64     University Medical Magazine (Edited under the auspices of the Alumni and Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania) 1888; 1:140-150

A subcutaneous connective tissue dystrophy of the arms and the back, associated with symptoms resembling Myxœdema.

Dercum FX

PMID: ?, UI: ?


#65     Am. J. Med. Sci 1892;104:521-535

Three cases of a hitherto unclassified affection resembling in its grosser aspects obesity, but associated with special nervous symptoms: adiposis dolorosa.

Dercum FX

PMID: ?, UI: ?


#66     Am. J. Hum. Genet. 1963;15:184-190

Hereditary factors in adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease).

Lynch HT,  Harlan WL

PMID: ?, UI: ?


#67     J Am Med Assn. 1938; 110:1261-1264

Adipositas dolorosa (Dercum's disease).

Wohl MG, Pastor N

PMID: ?, UI: ?


That's all, so far. These articles are in the order in which I found them. Some of the problems with this disease is the articles are sprinkled through a variety of journals, and a significant number are not in English. Hope these have been helpful -- Don.


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