IT affects almost 20 per cent of the Scottish population, but just one per cent believes the condition is real.
Today a new drive has been launched to improve awareness of the debilitating condition known as Viking disease.
Also called Dupruytren’s disease, the progressive condition affects the connective tissue in the palm of the hand and the fingers, causing the fingers to bend inwards and causing difficulties in carrying out everyday tasks such as dressing, driving, cooking and even shaking hands.
The first evidence of the condition was discovered in a mummy dating to 1010-820 BC and it is also documented in Icelandic sagas.
More common in people of North European descent, it is thought that the gene associated with the ailment was brought to the UK by the Vikings, with the highest concentrations of patients today found in Scotland, where as much as 17 per cent of the population is affected.
However, in research conducted by healthcare firm Sobi, just one per cent of the public identified it as a real illness. Now a new online resource has been launched to change this.
Launched on International Viking Day, the website thisisdupuytrens.com uses the name of Guillaume Dupuytren, the 19th century French anatomist who identified a treatment, which involves surgery to affected tissue.
Anna Schurer, chair of the British Dupuytren’s Society, said: “There is a clear need for increased awareness of this condition which affects so many people in the UK, particularly in Scotland and the north of England.
“We hope that the website will go some way to identify more patients at an earlier stage of the disease so they can find the information they need and seek medical help as appropriate.”
Viking disease occurs when a collagen nodule forms in the palm of the hand, resulting in a small lump which can develop into a long cord in the palm and then contracts, drawing the finger towards the palm.
Mostly found in men over the age of 50, its underlying cause is not known.
Photographs of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan are said to suggest they were affected by it, while actor Bill Nighy and BBC cricketing commentator Jonathan Agnew, who has Scottish heritage on his mother’s side, are both known to have the condition.
One patient backing the new awareness drive is Bonnie Hughes, a Canadian whose family hailed from Scotland. The 48-year-old developed Viking disease when she dropped a glass on her hand at the age of 18 and, as it progressed, she was unable to lay her hand flat, affecting her confidence and activities.
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