Hand angiography and Raynaud's syndrome

Forty-eight patients with Raynaud's syndrome and seven volunteers without it were studied by magnification hand angiography which included studies of the effects of cold exposure before and after the selective intraarterial administration of reserpine. Most of the patients with Raynaud's syndrome, in addition to organic obstructive disease, exhibited both basal vasoconstriction and exaggerated, persisting cryogenic vasospasm of the hand arteries. Studies done two days after reserpine administration revealed decreases in both basal and cryogenic vasospasm in most patients and the degree of angiographic improvement correlated well with subsequently determined clinical responses to long-term vasodilator drug therapy. Hand angiography with examinations after cold exposure and its combination with the postreserpine pharmacodynamic studies is a useful technique in Raynaud's syndrome, both diagnostically and in predicting the outcome of longterm vasodilator therapy.