Palmaris Longus Muscle and Dupuytren (Palmaris)

The Potential Relationship Between the Palmaris Longus Muscle Prevalence and Dupuytren Disease: a Comparative Study

Dupuytren disease is a medical condition characterized by the painless formation of nodules in the palm of the hand. Cords are formed on the palmar fascia, a connective tissue sheet in the palm of the hand. This fascia is seen as the vestigial remnant of the palmaris longus tendon. The PLM attaches to the fascia palmaris. A muscle that not everyone has and can therefore be clearly missed. This raises the question of whether the presence of the musculus palmaris longus has any association with the development, recurrence and/or progression of DD and contractures. To investigate a potential predisposition, this study intend to assess the prevalence of the PLM in a group of individuals affected by DD and compare it with a control group (age matched, no signs of DD) without the condition.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dupuytren's Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Non-invasive tests to determine the presence or absence of the palmaris longus tendon in both hands.; Procedure: Ultrasound

Detailed Description

Dupuytren disease is also known as Dupuytren contracture. It is a medical condition characterized by the painless formation of nodules in the palm of the hand. As the disease progresses, approximately 21% - 50% of all patients experience a transformation of these nodules (stage 0/N of Tubiana) into cord-like structures. These cords, in turn, lead to finger contractures (Tubiana stages 1-4) with impairment of hand mobility and stiffening of the palmar skin. The cords are formed on the palmar fascia, a connective tissue sheet in the palm of the hand. This fascia is seen as the vestigial remnant of the palmaris longus tendon. The PLM attaches to the fascia palmaris. A muscle that not everyone has and can therefore be clearly missed. This raises the question of whether the presence of the musculus palmaris longus has any association with the development, recurrence and/or progression of DD and contractures. To investigate a potential predisposition, this study intend to assess the prevalence of the PLM in a group of individuals affected by DD and compare it with a control group (age matched, no signs of DD) without the condition. Interestingly, prior research has already explored this topic. Despite the publication dating back to 1986, it reported a significantly higher occurrence of the palmaris longus tendon in patients affected by DD. Furthermore, a second article from the same year concluded a significant decrease in recurrence when the palmaris longus tendon was resected in combination with regional fasciectomy. Remarkably, no other research on this topic was found despite the promising results of both articles.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 243
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Vlaams-Brabant
    • Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium, 3000
      • Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The participant or his/her legally authorized representative voluntary signed the informed consent prior to the first assessment.
• 50 years of age or higher.
• Has Dupuytren disease (primary or recurrent). (Only applicable for participants of DD group)
• Has no medical conditions affecting the function of the hand (musculoskeletal pathology, vascular or neurological conditions such as CRPS, rheumatoid arthritis and paralysis). (Only applicable for participants of control group)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients < 50 years
• Patients with cognitive impairments.
• Patients showing signs of medical conditions affecting the function of the hand (musculoskeletal pathology, vascular or neurological conditions such as CRPS, rheumatoid arthritis and paralysis). (Only applicable for participants of control group)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Patients with Dupuytren disease; 120 individuals diagnosed with Dupuytren disease (primary or recurrent).	Procedure: Non-invasive tests to determine the presence or absence of the palmaris longus tendon in both hands.; Schaeffer's test (flexion of the wrist while the pinky and thumb are pressed against each other) Thompson's test (wrist flexion with a clenched fist) Mishra test I (wrist flexion while the examiner pushes the hand back) Mashra test II (thumb opposition while flexing the wrist); Procedure: Ultrasound; A small mobile ultrasound device will be used to further asses the presence of the tendon.
Experimental: Healthy controls; 120 participants with no other medical conditions affecting the function of the hand (musculoskeletal pathology, vascular or neurological conditions such as CRPS, rheumatoid arthritis and paralysis).	Procedure: Non-invasive tests to determine the presence or absence of the palmaris longus tendon in both hands.; Schaeffer's test (flexion of the wrist while the pinky and thumb are pressed against each other) Thompson's test (wrist flexion with a clenched fist) Mishra test I (wrist flexion while the examiner pushes the hand back) Mashra test II (thumb opposition while flexing the wrist); Procedure: Ultrasound; A small mobile ultrasound device will be used to further asses the presence of the tendon.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PLM in the DD versus control	Percentual prevalence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in the Dupuytren Disease-group versus the control group.	Baseline
PML in mild versus severe DD-group	Percentual prevalence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in the mild (stage 0/N of Tubiana) Dupuytren Disease-group versus the severe (Tubiana stages 1-4) Dupuytren Disease-group.	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PLM presence in DD affected group	Percentual prevalence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in the Dupuytren Disease-group	Baseline
PLM presence in control group	Percentual prevalence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in the control group	Baseline
Dominant versus non-dominant hand	Percentual prevalence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in the dominant hand versus the non-dominant hand for both Dupuytren Disease-group and control group.	Baseline
Male versus female population	Percentual prevalence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle in male versus female population.	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ilse Degreef, Prof. Dr., Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 16, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 28, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): November 28, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 19, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 26, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): February 28, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 9, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 6, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Neoplasms; Connective Tissue Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms, Connective and Soft Tissue; Neoplasms, Connective Tissue; Neoplasms, Fibrous Tissue; Fibroma; Contracture; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Dupuytren Contracture; Physical Phenomena; Radiation; Radiation, Nonionizing; Ultrasonic Waves; Sound; High-Energy Shock Waves
• Other Study ID Numbers: S68374

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No