Abstract
Responses to combined body and finger cooling were recorded by laser-Doppler flowmetry, Xenon-113 washout and strain-gauge plethysmography in 22 patients (seven patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PR) and 15 with generalized scleroderma (GS] and nine healthy, warm-handed subjects. Finger systolic blood-pressure decreased to zero in 100% of the patients, after body and finger cooling as measured with strain-gauge plethysmography. With the laser-Doppler flowmeter a low-positive blood-pressure was registered in two patients. The duration of a Raynaud's attack was found to vary from 0.5 to greater than 5 minutes as observed by the laser-Doppler flowmeter. Xenon-133 washout from the fingertips, during a zero blood-flow situation, insignificantly deviated from the washout during vascular occlusion. It is concluded that; (1) the elicitation and duration of Raynaud's phenomenon could be clearly observed by laser-Doppler flowmetry; (2) the zero blood-flow observed by laser-Doppler flowmetry could be confirmed by Xenon-133 washout and (3) in GS cases, the laser-Doppler flowmetry seemed more sensitive than the strain-gauge, at extremely low blood flow values.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
