News about Swedish Dercum's Research

Thanks to FDRS for sharing this information!

Swedish Researchers Rally for Dercum’s Disease
On May 11, 2012, seven patients with Dercum’s Disease joined Dr. Ola Winqvist and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Dr. Winqvist spoke in depth about the immune system and its involvement in Dercum’s Disease. Importantly, he described a specialized column that clears inflammatory cells from the blood – a possible treatment for Dercum’s disease in the future.
Dr. Olle Haglund gave an overview of Dercum’s Disease and provided advice on diet, supplements and life style. He also addressed the Cyclic Variations in Adaptive Conditioning™ (CVAC™) process as a means for reducing pain, how to use lymph therapy to improve lymph flow, and cardiovascular stiffness.

Dr. Winqvist completed an analysis of some aspects of the immune system in the blood of people with Dercum’s disease who have Type II, or widespread affected tissue with small nodules in the fat, by fluorescence assisted cell sorting (FACS). He also wanted to examine the immune system in people with Type III, who have larger painful lipomas, often in the absence of obesity.

The patients with primarily Type III Dercum’s Disease who attended the meeting provided blood to Dr. Winqvist for further analyses. All of the people with Dercum’s disease shared their stories and found they had a lot in common. Many people noted their lipomas started after an infection or trauma.

FDRS helped to recruit people for this meeting and will continue to support research in all RADs across the globe. We want to give special thanks to Staffan Erickson who worked tirelessly to encourage people to attend this meeting and Staffan’s girlfriend, Amielyn Garcia-Manzano, for taking pictures at the event.