title: A comparative study of reactive hyperemia in human forearm skin and muscle.
abstract: Reactive hyperemia (RH) in forearm muscle or skin microcirculation has been considered as a surrogate endpoint in clinical studies of cardiovascular disease. We evaluated two potential confounders that might limit such use of RH, namely laterality of measurement and intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Twenty-three young non-smoking healthy adults were enrolled. In Experiment 1 (n=16), the RH elicited by 3 min of ischemia was recorded in the muscle (strain gauge plethysmography, hand excluded) and skin (laser Doppler imaging) of both forearms. In Experiment 2 (n=7), RH was determined in the dominant forearm only, one hour following oral acetylsalicylic acid (1 g) or placebo. In Experiment 1, peak RH was identical in both forearms, and so were the corresponding durations of responses. RH lasted significantly less in muscle than in skin (p=0.003), a hitherto unrecognized fact. In the skin, acetylsalicylate reduced duration (43 vs. 57.4 s for placebo, p=0.03), without affecting the peak response. In muscle, duration tended to decrease with acetylsalicylate (21.4 vs. 26.0 s with placebo, p=0.06) and the peak increase in blood flow was blunted (27.2 vs. 32.4 ml/min/100 ml tissue with placebo, p=0.003). We conclude that, when using RH as a surrogate endpoint in studies of cardiovascular disease, a confounding by laterality of measurement need not be feared, but NSAIDS may have an influence, although perhaps not on the peak response in the skin.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pathophysiology, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Addor
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delachaux
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dischl
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hayoz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liaudet
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Waeber
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feihl
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001241:Aspirin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005542:Forearm; D006801:Humans; D006940:Hyperemia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000187:drug effects*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply*; D010991:Plethysmography; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D001241:Aspirin