Leukocytes have been shown to contribute to ischemia-reperfusion injury in skeletal muscle. Pentoxifylline (PTXF), a xanthine-derived phosphodiesterase inhibitor, has received recent attention because of its action on leukocytes. To clarify the effects of PTXF in reperfusion injury, we measured the resting transmembrane potential difference ( E m) and evaluated postcapillary venule microcircula...

The objective of the present study was to reveal an interaction between choroidal blood flow (ChBF) and light-induced photoreceptor activity, a physiological coupling that has been already demonstrated for retinal blood flow but rejected for ChBF. Ten healthy adults volunteered for this study. A real-time recording near-infrared laser-Doppler flowmeter was used to quantify the subfoveal ChBF wh...

The skin flush response to niacin is abnormally blunted among a subset of patients with schizophrenia (SZ), preferentially associates with SZ compared to other mental illnesses, occurs frequently in nonpsychotic members of SZ-affected families, appears heritable, and shows evidence of genetic association. The niacin response abnormality (NRA) may prove to be a useful SZ endophenotype. Using a l...

Existing precision displacement-measuring devices are primarily based on linear encoders (optical or magnetic) or laser interferometers. Most encoders use grating scales and frequency counters, while most interferometers use stabilized lasers and fringe counters. In general, interferometers are more expensive and more accurate than linear encoders. However, there are large gaps in price and per...

This review article discusses the use of laser Doppler imaging as a clinimetric tool to determine burn depth in patients presenting to hospital. Laser Doppler imaging is a very sensitive and specific tool to measure burn depth, easy to use, reliable and acceptable to the patient due to its quick and non-invasive nature. Improvements in validity, cost and reproducibility would improve its use in...

vii-Abstract Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is virtually the only non-invasive technique, except for other laser speckle based techniques, that enables estimation of the microcirculatory blood flow. The technique was introduced into the field of biomedical engineering in the 1970s, and a rapid evolvement followed during the 1980s with fiber based systems and improved signal analysis. The first i...

To find whether the vasodilator capacity of nonacral skin is reduced in hypertension, we measured forearm blood flow by venous occlusion plethysmography in 10 seated normotensive (mean +/- SD mean arterial pressure, 94 +/- 5 mm Hg) and 10 hypertensive (112 +/- 9 mm Hg) men at rest for 39 minutes while the forearm was heated with water at 42 degrees C, a maneuver known to selectively and maximal...

Orthostatic hypotension can be caused by an inadequate vasoconstrictor response. The effects of amezinium on vasoconstrictor response to sympathetic stimulation and to exogenous noradrenaline were investigated and compared with those of midodrine. In 8 healthy men, the following experiments were performed after a single oral dose of 10mg of amezinium, 2mg of midodrine or a placebo. First, finge...