Successful Treatment of Dercum's Disease by Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation

Abstract

Dercum's disease is a rare condition of painful subcutaneous growth of adipose tissue. Etiology is unknown and pain is difficult to control. We report the case of a 57-year-old man with generalized diffuse Dercum's disease, who improved after the treatment with transcutaneous frequency rhythmic electrical modulation system (FREMS).Treatment consisted in 4 cycles of 30 minutes FREMS sessions over a 6-month period. Measures of efficacy included pain assessment (visual analogue scale, VAS), adipose tissue thickness by magnetic resonance imaging, total body composition and regional fat mass by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, physical disability (Barthel index), and health status (Short Form-36 questionnaire).After FREMS treatment the patient's clinical conditions significantly improved, with reduction of pain on the VAS scale from 64 to 17 points, improvement of daily life abilities (the Barthel index increased from 12 to 18) and amelioration of health status (higher scores than baseline in all Short Form-36 domains). Furthermore, we documented a 12 mm reduction in subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness at the abdominal wall and a 7040 g decrease in total body fat mass.FREMS therapy proved to be effective and safe in the treatment of this rare and disabling condition.

Dercum’s Disease: A Case Report of a Patient Having Both Type 1 and Type 2 Dercum’s Disease

“…Several novel and noninvasive procedures have also been described as beneficial. Treatment with transcutaneous frequency rhythmic electrical modulation system over 6 months improved pain assessment and reduced subcutaneous adipose tissue in one man with Dercum's disease [ 20 ]. A group of 10 patients with Dercum's disease reported improvement in pain after 5 days of rapidly cycling hypobaric pressure [ 21 ].…”

Concurrent pulmonary embolism in female monozygotic twins affected by Dercum’s disease

“…The twins were both affected by DD which is a rare disorder resulting in painful fatty deposits around the upper legs, trunk and upper arms. Little is known about the pathological mechanisms of this condition, although it is suspected that there is either a metabolic or autoimmune component involved [8]. An increased risk amongst family members has been described [9].…”

Lipomatoses

“…In some cases, topical analgesia with lidocaine patches (5 %) or lidocaine/prilocaine cream (25 mg/25 mg per gram) was successful . Treatments that have been effective in individual cases include pregabalin and manual lymphatic drainage, metformin, interferon α2b, methotrexate and infliximab, systemic and intralesionally administered glucocorticosteroids, hypobaric compression therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (Table ).…”