Evidence for sensory nerve involvement in cutaneous reactive hyperemia in humans

Abstract

To study the involvement of local sensory nerves in reactive hyperemia, laser-Doppler measurements of skin blood flow were recorded in locally anesthetized and untreated forearm sites in eight volunteers after 90, 180, and 360 seconds of arrested forearm blood flow. The reactive hyperemia increased in magnitude and duration in response to increasing occlusion periods. However, maximum postocclusion flows in the untreated site of 31±5%, 38±6%, and 49±5% (mean±SEM) flux were significantly greater than the 14±3% (P