Changes in the Biochemical Properties of Diseased Tissue as Pathogenetic Factors in Dupuytren's Contracture

Ideally, elastic material reacts immediately to any deforming force with a corresponding change of shape and reassumes the original shape as soon as the deforming force stops acting. In reality, however, an elastic material that behaves in this theoretical way does not exist. Especially in living tissues, deformation is always accompanied by a dislocation of internal structures, which occurs against a certain amount of friction and takes some time. Accommodation to a final shape takes place slowly and requires energy. From our preliminary studies, which examined the parameters listed below, we knew that the viscous fraction is low in NPA but significantly increased in tissues obtained from patients with D D . We were not interested in extreme values such as tensile strength, because these values may be influenced strongly by individual factors. We wanted to determine the changes in parameters as expressed in physiological values. We therefore selected strain levels of 2 .5%, 5%, 7 .5%, and 10%.