Dercum disease is also known as adiposis dolorosa. It is a rare disease characterised by a combination of features:
Dercum disease may be associated with obesity, emotional upset and fatigue.
It was first described in 1892, by Dercum, who named the disease 'adiposis dolorosa' to describe the painful adiposities (fat accumulations) seen in his 3 patients.
Dercum disease affects women more frequently than men (reportedly 5–30 times more common in women than in men).
Most people with Dercum disease do not have a family history of Dercum disease. However, the disease has been reported as showing an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance in some families (ie the children of someone with Dercum disease have a 1-in-2 likelihood of also developing it.)
A diagnosis of Dercum disease can be made through a systematic physical examination and identification of the characteristic triad of features (multiple lipomas, painful plaques and obesity).
Multiple lipomas may also be features of:
A biopsy may be helpful to distinguish a lipoma from an angiolipoma (another type of painful fat overgrowth).
Other lesions that may mimic a lipoma include:
Dercum disease seems to benefit from the patient losing weight. Surgical excision or liposuction of selected lipomas may help, especially when they are in inconvenient locations. Surgical excision of many lipomas is not usually thought to be helpful and risks surgical complications.
Conventional pain medicines do not seem to reduce the discomfort associated with Dercum disease. Some reports do suggest that a local anaesthetic injection or patch can provide relief for intractable pain.
