Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis; Is response to Parasympathetic function test altered?

Abstract

Background: Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis is characterized by excessive sweating, especially of palms and feet. It is said to be due to sympathetic over activity. However, autonomic nervous system as a whole, itself could be dysfunctional in this condition, rather than isolated sympathetic dysfunction. Thus, we have undertaken the present study to test and compare the autonomic function status in these patients with age and sex matched healthy individuals. Material and Methods: Twenty, normal subjects with no known autonomic dysfunction as controls and twenty, known idiopathic Hyperhidrosis patients as subjects were taken for the present study. Autonomic function tests were performed in both these groups and were compared. Result: Sympathetic function tests, which were performed, were within the normal range whereas parasympathetic tests were normal except for response to deep breathing test, which showed a significant increase (P < 0.01) in the Hyperhidrosis patients, compared to the controls. Conclusion: Response to deep breathing, a parasympathetic test was significantly increased in patients with Hyperhidrosis compared to controls in the present study, which will conclude the study with the findings that the idiopathic Hyperhidrosis seems to be a complex dysfunction of autonomic nervous system, that involves autonomic pathways other than those related to excess sweating. Keywords: Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis; Autonomic Function Test; Parasympathetic dysfunction; Sympathetic over activity.