Cutaneous blood flow and thermoregulation in Prader-Willi syndrome patients

We examined adrenergic controlled cutaneous blood flow and temperature regulation in Prader-Willi syndrome. A body mass index was calculated for each participant. Thermal and laser Doppler finger probes were applied for continuous simultaneous surface temperature and capillary blood flow recording. Analysis with respect to group, age, body mass index, and genetic cause were performed. There were 32 patients (mean = 17.5 years of age) and five control subjects (mean = 15.6 years of age). There were no significant differences in mean ages or sex between groups. There was no significant difference in averaged blood flow measures with respect to group (P = 0.81), age (P = 0.16), body mass index (P = 0.54), or genetic identification (P = 0.81). There was no significant difference in average temperature measures as a function of group (P = 0.95), body mass index (P = 0.82), or genetic identification (P = 0.95). There was a significant difference in average temperature (P = 0.008) and trend in temperature change over time (P = 0.07) with respect to age for both patients and control subjects. Younger participants had higher average temperatures (30.6 degrees C vs 28.4 degrees C) in both study groups. We conclude that the central regulation and adrenergic control of cutaneous temperature and blood flow regulation in Prader-Willi syndrome at rest is not different from control subjects. These observations strengthen prior observations that a primary disturbance in parasympathetic autonomic regulation exists in Prader-Willi syndrome.