Adiposis Dolorosa (Dercum's diease)

Herr, Hwan; Kim, Young Tae; Kim, Joong Hwan

Abstract

The patient was a sixty-year-old obese woman with the long history of hypertension, amenorrhea and occasional psychic disturbances. She had eigbt, thumb to adult-fist sized, slightly movable, relatively soft, and painful subcutaneous nodules with tenderness and paresthcsia, of which overlying skin appeared to be normal except senile changes, on the abdomen and both upper extremities for 10 years. There was no evidence of inheritance in her family. Laboratory data revealed no abnormalities in lipid metabolism or in a variety of endocrinological functions. Microscopically, an excised mass from the forearm showed thin connective tissue capsule encircling numerous lobules cornposed entirely of the mature fat. cells vith minimal focal capillary proliferatios.