Peripheral vasoconstrictor responses to sympathetic activation in diabetic patients: relationship with rheological disorders.

The sympathetic nervous system regulates peripheral blood flow. This study investigated sympathetic vascular control in diabetic patients by measuring cutaneous blood flow (CBF) with a laser Doppler device at rest and during three sympathetic activation tests: deep-breathing, changing positions from sitting to standing, and using the Valsalva maneuver. The influence of various factors, particularly rheological changes, was also assessed. Forty-two type II diabetes mellitus (non-insulin-dependent [NIDDM]) patients and 14 control subjects were studied. The mean value and standard deviation (SD) of basal CBF at rest were not significantly different in the two groups. In 12 NIDDM patients, the SD was less than the lowest limit found in the controls. During the three tests, the reduction in CBF and its downward slope were lower in NIDDM patients than in controls, with the greatest difference occurring during the deep-breathing test. During this test, the downward slope of CBF was less than the lowest control level in 14 NIDDM patients. The log SD of basal CBF correlated with the decrease in CBF during the sitting-to-standing and Valsalva tests in control subjects and during all three tests in NIDDM patients. In NIDDM patients, log mean basal CBF correlated negatively with the log erythrocyte filtration index ([FI] an index of rigidity) and positively with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The log downward slope of CBF during the deep-breathing test correlated negatively with log erythrocyte Fl. The log downward slope of CBF during the sitting-to-standing and Valsalva tests correlated positively with total cholesterol and triglycerides, respectively. Basal CBF and the CBF response to these tests did not correlate with retinopathy, nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy, or heart rate variations during these tests. This study suggests that CBF assessment by laser Doppler flowmetry affords an attractive noninvasive way to investigate sympathetic nervous function in diabetic patients. The amplitude of changes in basal CBF and the decrease in CBF during the deep-breathing test show that this is a simple and sensitive procedure for detecting sympathetic nerve dysfunction. Moreover, theological blood properties and metabolic factors seem to strongly influence resting CBF and vasomotor reflexes.