Peyronie’s disease and Dupuytren’s disease

Sexual issues and non-sexual issues are different in their characteristics. However, consequences of both these types of diseases often have similar themes. Peyronie’s disease and Dupuytren’s disease are no different. While Peyronie’s disease reduces men’s ability to perform satisfactory sexual intercourse, Dupuytren’s disease causes key issues in performing normal daily tasks with hands. Both issues may seem completely unrelated to each other, but this is not the case. Peyronie’s disease and Dupuytren’s do share some similarities with one another and if you suffer one you are more likely to suffer the other. In this article, we will explore these two issues in more details.

History of PD and DD

Although both issues are not common, these are not recent medical issues. Peyronie’s disease was first described by a French surgeon named Framcois Gigot de la Peyronie all the way back in 1943. He first observed this issue on the penis of King Louis XV chief surgeon. But even though, this disease can be traced back to the 18^th century the general understanding of doctors and researchers regarding this issue was still relatively limited. Due to the technological advancements in the recent years and emergence of various imaging techniques, doctors nowadays know a more informed about the condition.

Just like Peyronie’s Disease, Dupuytren’s Disease has also been known for a long while. Dupuytren’s disease is named after a French anatomist and surgeon who first described it in 1831. This disease known as the “Viking disease,” mainly because it was more common in people of Northern European descent. The knowledge regarding this disease back in 18^th or 19^th centuries was extremely low. Unfortunately, even nowadays there is still more to be discovered about the condition.

What is Peyronie’s disease and Dupuytren’s disease?

Both Peyronie’s disease and Dupuytren’s disease are comorbid. Because both issues are connective tissue disorders. Both PD and DD are related to the abnormal deposition of collagen and calcium in the connective tissues. The differences are the body region that is affected. Peyronie’s disease affects the penis of men, causing it to bend or curve in such a way that performing sexual intercourse becomes increasingly difficult. Dupuytren’s disease on the other hand affects the hands and fingers of patients. This condition causes one or multiple fingers to bend toward the palm of the hand.

Association of PD and DD with other diseases

People with certain medical conditions may be more vulnerable to suffer from Peyronie’s disease and Dupuytren’s disease. Issues like diabetes, alcohol use disorder, HIV, AIDS, and vascular diseases can increase the risk of development of both issues. Researchers are not exactly sure why, but these conditions were more commonly found in PD and DD patients.

Causes of PD and DD

Penile Injury: Injury or trauma to the penis is the most common cause of Peyronie’s disease in men. Penile injuries can cause swelling and bleeding inside the elastic membrane of the penis. Once the injury gets healed, plaques can develop in the affected region. This hard plaque pulls the surrounding tissues, and this causes the penis to bend or curve in certain way.

Family History: Peyronie’s disease can also to be an inherited disorder. If a man suffers from PD, then other males of his family also may suffer from an increased risk of developing PD.

And talking about Dupuytren’s disease, researchers have not been able to identity exact causes of this issue yet. However, just like Peyronie’s disease, Dupuytren’s disease is also an inherited disorder which affects the connective tissues. Genetics is the most common cause of this disease.

Treatment of PD and DD

Treating Peyronie’s disease can be hard, but modern treatment options are available.

Lifestyle Modifications: Physical exercises, healthy nutritious diet, weight management, and quitting smoking, all can improve the overall health of men. These tasks can improve penile as well as general health of men.

Oral Medications: Medicines such as pentoxifylline, colchicine and vitamin E are used to treat Peyronie’s disease effects many men around the world. But it is important to note that, such medications can have adverse effects on the body. That is why it is always mandatory to consult an experienced medical professional before taking these medicines.

Injections: Reducing plaque size and penile curvature can also be undertaken with the help of intralesional injections of collagenase and verapamil.

Topical Agents: Nutrogkycerin and potassium para-aminobenzoate, which are topical agents, can be used to treat PD as well.

Nesbit Procedure: This is a surgical process which involves shortening the longer size of the penis to mitigate the curvature.

Tunica plication: This surgical procedure involves folding and suturing the tunica albuginea on the shorter side of the penis to minimize the curvature.

Grafting: In the grafting process, the plaque is removed, and a tissue graft is used to cover the defect in the tunica albuginea and treat the curvature.

Shockwave Therapy: Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment option which utilizes special shockwaves to break down the plaques and improve blood flow in the penis. It is a new treatment option, which was first used to break down kidney stones.

EMTT Therapy: EMTT therapy or extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy is yet another non-invasive treatment procedure which utilizes strong magnetic field. EMTT therapy and shockwave therapy, both can be used simultaneously to effectively treat PD.

Now let us look at some of the treatment options for Dupuytren’s disease.

Non-Surgical Treatments: Steroid injections and collagenase injections are typically used to treat Dupuytren’s disease. These injections reduce inflammation, symptoms and break down the contracted tissue. Shockwave therapy for Dupuytren’s contracture can also be an effective treatment option. Because shockwave therapy can reduce the plaques and improve blood circulation in the hands.

Surgical Treatments: If the condition of Dupuytren’s disease progresses to later stages and if it is too severe, then surgical procedures may be required. Fasciectomy, fasciotomy and dermo fasciectomy are common surgical treatments of the disease.
A website offering useful information for sufferers is the Peyronie’s Forum.

Effectiveness of shockwave therapy

Shockwave therapy was originally used to break down the kidney stones. Later, doctors saw the usage of this therapy in the treatment of other conditions as well. Now shockwave therapy has proven to be an extremely effective treatment option for various male sexual issues and Dupuytren’s disease. MansMatters, which is a specialized men’s shockwave clinic based on the London, UK, claims that shockwave therapy can break down the plaques and improve blood flow in the affected region without posing any major side-effects whatsoever. This clinic also offers several other non-invasive treatments for male sexual issues such as ED, PD or PE, including, Functional Magnetic Stimulation, extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy or EMTT therapy and NanoVi.