The effect of pilocarpine on electrodermal resistance in chronic hemodialyzed patients.

Electric resistance of forearm skin was examined in 40 hemodialyzed (HD) patients under resting conditions and after subjecting the skin to the action of a 10% pilocarpine gel. The results were compared with a control group of a 100 healthy volunteers. An increased skin resistance was observed before dialysis and then a significant post-dialysis fall to the normal level followed. The response to the applied pharmacological stimulus in the HD group was similar to that in the control group. The results suggest that the rise in skin resistance in patients with renal failure and the so-called uremic dry skin, are not connected with the dysfunction of the glands themselves but rather with their insufficient stimulation.