Only certain people are affected by the Viking disease Dupuytren's disease in old age. Researchers have discovered risk factors.
Stockholm – Dupuytren's disease is a chronic disease. It usually occurs in the hands of male patients and is incurable. It means that individual fingers can no longer be stretched. As the disease progresses, they may no longer be able to move at all. It is also popularly known as Winkinger's disease.
Dupuytren's disease of the hands: symptoms of Viking disease
It is called that because men from Northern Europe are particularly affected by it. Up to 30 percent of people over 60 suffer from it, according to a scientific article by Molecular Biology and Evolution. However, people of African descent are rarely affected by the disease. The article includes in particular a study that looked at the risk factors.
The symptoms of Dupuytren's disease are:
- Nodular and cord-like hardening between the skin and flexor tendons
- Often on the little and ring fingers, both hands are usually affected
- Usually no pain
- Sensory or circulatory disorders
- You end up with crooked fingers that you can no longer straighten
It has been known to scientists for several years that genetic characteristics account for up to 80 percent of risk factors German medical journal published in 2021. In their study published in 2023, the researchers found that Neanderthal genes increase the risk of developing Dupuytren's disease. They account for a total of 61 genetic risk factors, three of which originated in Neanderthals. These include the second and third most important risk factors.
Dupuytren's disease: Disease shows connection between Neanderthals and Vikings
The researchers arrived at their findings by examining 7,871 cases of the disease in comparison with the control group of almost 646,000 healthy people.
“This is a case in which the encounter with Neanderthals had an impact on those suffering from disease, although we should not overstate the connection between Neanderthals and Vikings,” says Hugo Zeberg of the Carolinian Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, on the university's website .
Studies in the wake of the corona pandemic have demonstrated the influence of genetic building blocks that have been in the genetic makeup of certain population groups for centuries. Researchers found that Neanderthal genes promoted severe disease progression after infection.
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