Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 16, 2021; 9(8): 1983-1988
Published online Mar 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i8.1983
Madelung disease: A case report
Ke-Ke Chen, Lian-Song Ni, Wei-Hui Yu
Ke-Ke Chen, Lian-Song Ni, Wei-Hui Yu, Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Chen KK collected clinical data, discussed the details, contributed to the writing; Ni LS contributed to the follow–up of the patient, and modified the manuscript; Yu WH modified the manuscript and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei-Hui Yu, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 2 Fuxue Alley, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China. shadow1201@163.com
Received: November 16, 2020
Peer-review started: November 16, 2020
First decision: December 13, 2020
Revised: January 3, 2020
Accepted: January 22, 2021
Article in press: January 22, 2021
Published online: March 16, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Madelung disease (MD) is a rare disorder of fat metabolism, resulting in diffuse, symmetrical and painless deposition of adipose tissue in subcutaneous superficial fascial space and/or deep fascia space of the head, neck and shoulders, etc.

CASE SUMMARY

We report a case of MD accompanied by type 2 diabetes in a 61-year-old Chinese male. The patient presented with progressive fat deposition over the mandible, neck, abdomen and elbows. He had a history of smoking and alcohol abuse. Excessive fat deposition was seen in the mandible, elbows and the abdominal area of the patient by ultrasonic examination. Computed tomography showed diffuse and marked soft masses (fat density) in the subcutaneous superficial fascia space of the neck. The patient was diagnosed with MD. He was advised to abstain from alcohol and was followed up regularly.

CONCLUSION

This report discusses the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of MD, and raises the clinician’s awareness of this disease.

Keywords: Madelung disease, Multiple lipomatosis, Diabetes, Case report

Core Tip: Madelung disease (MD) is a rare disorder of fat metabolism, which results in diffuse and symmetrical deposition of adipose tissue in the subcutaneous superficial fascia space and/or deep fascia space in various parts of the body, such as the neck and shoulders, etc. Recently, a case of MD accompanied by type 2 diabetes was diagnosed and treated in our hospital. The clinical characteristics of MD are still under-recognized. Herein we discuss the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of MD in order to improve the clinician’s understanding of the disease.