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Characterization of the cutaneous blood flow‐local temperature response through its entire range
Author(s) -
Bruning Rebecca S,
Alexander Lacy M.,
Kenney W. Larry
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.1133.14
Subject(s) - axon reflex , vasoconstriction , vasodilation , provocation test , skin temperature , blood flow , thermoregulation , medicine , laser doppler velocimetry , forearm , anesthesia , chemistry , anatomy , biomedical engineering , pathology , alternative medicine
Thermal provocation of the skin circulation has been used to assess resistance vessel function, yet the response to dose‐dependent changes in local skin temperature (T sk ) has not been examined across the range from full vasoconstriction (VC) to full vasodilation (VD). Skin blood flow responses were assessed in 6 young healthy subjects (3 men, 3 women) using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) during two different heating and cooling protocols. 3 sites on the ventral forearm were randomly assigned to cooling (34°C–17°C), heating (31°C–41°C), or thermoneutral. R was a continuous ramp (0.6°C•min −1 ); S used stepwise heating/cooling at 0.33°C•min −1 . Cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) was calculated as LDF/MAP. Both protocols elicited highly reproducible CVC‐T sk function curves, whether expressed as absolute or normalized CVC. There were no significant differences in thresholds for VD (R: 36.0 ± 0.6°C, S: 36.6 ± 0.7°C, p=0.37) and VC (R: 30.9 ± 0.8°C, S: 32.3 ± 0.8°C, p=0.12), the max (R: 2.15 ± 0.26, S: 2.23 ± 0.20, p=0.81), min (R: 0.04 ± 0.01, S: 0.04 ± 0.01, p=0.85), or range (R: 2.08 ± 0.29, S: 2.17 ± 0.19, p=0.79) of CVC between protocols. Only R elicited both an axon reflex and cold‐induced VD. Standardized thermal provocation elicits highly reproducible changes in skin blood flow and may provide a means to noninvasively assess changes in resistance vessel function across the entire response range in health and disease.