Dupuytrens Contracture

[syljun]

A member of my family was recently diagnosed with above - Apparently inherited - DNA - Finger turning towards palm of hand. Mostly men had it. Specialist corrected the hand, small incision.
Apparently it comes down from "The Vikings" or so it thought brought about through their rowing of boats.
Can I safely say my Ancestors were vikings. The family name of "Harding" supposedly comes from Hardinger of Norway, but so many different explanations, some say the name is English.
Anyone know of the same hand condition. Google the name Dupuytrens Contracture and photos come up.
Any comments?

[Erato]

My father has it.  He was told it is common among people of Irish descent.  The operation is only a stop-gap measure, not a permanent solution; the contracture comes back.  As for the Vikings rowing boats, a belief in the inheritance of acquired characters went out with Lamarck more than 150 years ago.

[Billyblue]

Read all about it!    

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Dupuytren's_contracture

Dawn M

[supermoussi]

Can I safely say my Ancestors were vikings. The family name of "Harding" supposedly comes from Hardinger of Norway, but so many different explanations, some say the name is English.

You can never rely on a surname on its own as indicating your ancestry due to what are known as non-paternal events or NPEs. See:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-paternity_event

If you want to get evidence of where your ancestors came from before Britain then you will need to take some sort of DNA tests to see if your genes point to a specific part of Europe. In the case of paternal ancestry it would have to be an SNP test like the Chromo2 or Full Genome tests.

[davidft]

A member of my family was recently diagnosed with above - Apparently inherited - DNA - Finger turning towards palm of hand. Mostly men had it. Specialist corrected the hand, small incision.
Apparently it comes down from "The Vikings" or so it thought brought about through their rowing of boats.
Can I safely say my Ancestors were vikings. The family name of "Harding" supposedly comes from Hardinger of Norway, but so many different explanations, some say the name is English.
Anyone know of the same hand condition. Google the name Dupuytrens Contracture and photos come up.
Any comments?

No you cannot. Lots of information here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupuytren%27s_contracture

In short although you find it in Scandinavians hence the name Viking disease you also find in significantly in populations as diverse as Spain, Bosnia and Japan (from link)

[sugarbakers]

My wife's Dupuytrens was arrested, and diminished, using homeopathy !

[ankerdine]

My eldest son had it and was operated upon. Irish and Scottish ancestors. Who knows where it came from?

Judy

[syljun]

Thanks everyone. Your thoughts and opinions appreciated.
Syljun