Comparative study of thermal oedema in normal and leprotic subjects.

Roche, Silva and Antonio (3) showed that there is production of oedema in animals exposed to a temperature of 44°·45°C for twenty to thirity minutes and there is release of body bradykinin. The possibility of 5-HT and histamine being responsible for such an oedema is ruled out firstly by the fact that the mast cells get stablized at this temperature and secondly the antihistaminic and antiserotonin drugs have no influence on such oedema. They have, however, shown that sympatholytic drugs have significant reducing effect on this type of oedema. This points to the involvement of adrenergic nerves. The exact mechanism is not clear but it is possible that catecholamines may by some process activate the release of bradykinin. The object of this study was to find out if there was any gross difference in the production of oedema in normal persons with intact peripheral nerves and the patient of leprosy with ulnar nerve involvement.