Whether nitric oxide (NO) is involved in cutaneous active vasodilation during hyperthermia in humans is unclear. We tested for a role of NO in this process during heat stress (water-perfused suits) in seven healthy subjects. Two forearm sites were instrumented with intradermal microdialysis probes. One site was perfused with the NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) di...

The purpose of this study was to devise a means to use laser-Doppler flowmetry to measure cerebral perfusion before birth. The method has not been used previously, largely because of intrauterine movement artifacts. To minimize movement artifacts, a probe holder was molded from epoxy putty to the contour of the fetal skull. A curved 18-gauge needle was embedded in the holder. At surgery, the ho...

Accurate and objective assessment of amputation level in the lower limb plays an important role in patient management. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a new and noninvasive technique for skin blood flow measurement and has been used pre-operatively in 25 patients undergoing amputation for vascular disease and in five normal controls. Baseline flux measurements were made at room temperature on ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the origin of signals from scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (SLDF) and the influence of axial scan depth on the measurement of blood flow in the rat retina. METHODS We performed SLDF in 5 adult Sprague-Dawley rats using a specially modified Heidelberg retina flowmeter. Axial scans were obtained from +2 diopters (D) to -3 D (in steps of 0.25 D) or from +1 D to -2 D (in...

BACKGROUND Tumour vascularisation is a determinant of the development of metastases. AIMS To measure blood flow in normal stomach and gastric adenocarcinomas by laser Doppler flowmetry and correlate blood flow with vascularisation after immunohistochemical staining of resected specimens for CD31 and von Willebrand factor. PATIENTS Twenty two undergoing resection for gastric adenocarcinoma a...

BACKGROUND Optical Doppler tomography (ODT) combines laser Doppler flowmetry with optical coherence tomography to obtain high-resolution images of blood flow in human skin in situ and in real time. OBSERVATIONS We present a case in which ODT was used on a patient with a port-wine stain (PWS) birthmark to document the change of blood flow in response to laser therapy. It might be possible to u...