Noninvasive examination of endothelial, sympathetic, and myogenic contributions to regional differences in the human cutaneous microcirculation

• We non-invasively examined mechanisms of control of the cutaneous circulation.
• We studied differences in the cutaneous circulation between the forearm and the leg.
• Basal: legs are under higher endothelial and sympathetic influence than the forearm.
• During local heating the forearm has higher endothelial and sympathetic activity.
• Non-invasive spectral analyses may be useful in understanding mechanisms in pathology.

The aim of this study was to examine whether there are regional differences in the cutaneous microvascular responses of the forearm and the leg. Utilizing a non-invasive measure (spectral analysis),we looked at the influence of the endothelial, sympathetic, and myogenic function between regions at thermoneutral conditions (33 °C) and in response to local skin warming (42 °C) using laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF). We recruited 18 young, healthy participants, who visited the lab on 2 separate occasions. Participants were instrumented with LDF probes and local skin heater probe-holders, placed on the forearm or the leg. Blood pressure was recorded by oscillometry. At both 33 °C and during local skin warming to 42 °C, skin vasomotion for the forearm and leg were evaluated using spectral analysis of the LDF recordings. There were significant differences among all frequencies of interest between the forearm and the leg. At 33 °C the leg presented with higher (P = 0.003) activity for endothelial (0.009–0.021 Hz), sympathetic (P = 0.002) (0.021–0.052 Hz), and myogenic (P = 0.004) (0.052–0.145 Hz) activity when compared to the forearm. In contrast, following 35 min of local skin warming, the forearm had greater endothelial (P = 0.019), sympathetic (P = 0.006), and myogenic (P = 0.005) vasomotion than the leg. These outcomes indicate regional differences in the cutaneous microcirculation. The current results are similar to our previous work using invasive methods and pharmacological agents, indicating that non-invasive analyses may be useful in the diagnoses and understanding of the mechanisms that control the microvascular function of pathological conditions.