Dercum’s Disease: Bridging Present Understanding and Emerging Directions

TL;DR

Dercum’s Disease is a rare painful condition affecting fat tissue, mostly in middle-aged women, with unclear causes and treatment focused on pain relief.

Contribution

This review offers an updated summary of DD, emphasizing recent pharmacological treatment advances.

Findings

DD is marked by chronic pain in adipose tissue and subcutaneous nodules, mainly in overweight women.

Diagnosis relies on clinical evaluation due to overlapping symptoms with other conditions.

Current treatments focus on pain relief, highlighting gaps in understanding DD’s underlying causes.

Abstract

Dercum’s disease (DD) is a rare condition characterized by intense, asymmetrical, chronic burning pain localized in adipose tissue, often accompanied by subcutaneous fat nodules, leading to a significant reduction in quality of life. It typically affects overweight or obese adults between 35 and 50 years of age, with a marked female predominance. Despite numerous hypotheses proposed over time, the pathophysiology of DD remains poorly understood. Diagnosis is particularly challenging, as it relies solely on clinical evaluation. Given the overlapping features with other conditions, including symptoms, clinical course and inheritance pattern, a differential, accurate, and timely diagnosis is essential for the effective management of DD. Current treatment strategies focus primarily on pain relief, reflecting the still uncomplete understanding of DD etiopathogenesis. This review provides an updated overview of the current knowledge on DD, with particular emphasis on recent advances in pharmacological treatment strategies.

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