title: Modelling of thermal hyperemia in the skin of type 2 diabetic patients.
abstract: The microcirculatory response to thermal stimulation involves both an axon reflex and NO-mediated activation. The analysis of the microcirculatory flow following thermal stimulation may therefore enhance the detection of any impairment of the small unmyelinated fibres that are involved in the axon reflex. The aim of this work is to establish a method of non-invasive measurement of small fibre impairment. The microcirculatory flow in response to local heating is measured by using a laser Doppler instrument, and mathematically modelled to extract a set of quantitative parameters. The results confirm that there is a significant difference in the parameters modelling the axon reflex between diabetic and control subjects, while no significant difference is found in the parameters modelling the NO-mediated activation.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bandini
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Orlandi
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manfredi
authors.forename: Attilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evangelisti
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barrella
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bevilacqua
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bocchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006940:Hyperemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena
keywords: axon reflex; diabetic neuropathy; laser Doppler flowmetry; microcirculation; thermoregulation