title: Low skin temperature impairs the cutaneous vasodilator response to local progressive pressure strain.
abstract: A pressure-induced vasodilation (PIV) was recently reported as a putative protective response in human skin. Therefore, we examined the influence of skin temperatures on cutaneous blood flow responses to local progressive pressure strain. Ten healthy volunteers were studied at different ambient temperatures leading to low (29.0 +/- 0.3 degrees C), intermediate (32.6 +/- 0.1 degrees C), high (33.9 +/- 0.1 degrees C) and very high (36.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C) skin temperatures. We measured cutaneous blood flow using laser Doppler flowmetry on the foot in response to a local progressive pressure increase of 5.0 mm Hg min(-1). Progressive pressure strain led to an almost linear cutaneous laser Doppler flow decrease at both low and intermediate skin temperatures (-40.1 +/- 6.6% and -31.2 +/- 6.5% from baseline at 30 +/- 1.25 mm Hg), whereas at both high and very high skin temperatures, subjects responded with a transient cutaneous vasodilation (+33.6 +/- 10.6% and +50.6 +/- 15.4% from baseline at 30 +/- 1.25 mm Hg). These findings suggest that high skin temperatures are required for the PIV to develop.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physiology, University Hospital, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koïtka
authors.forename: Marie Sophie
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Legrand-Fernandez
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fizanne
authors.forename: Bérengère
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fromy
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sigaudo-Roussel
authors.forename: Jean Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Saumet
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000098:blood supply; D006361:Heating; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D011312:Pressure; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply*; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013696:Temperature; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology*