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Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Ultrasound Assessment of Endothelial-Dependent Flow-Mediated Vasodilation of the Brachial Artery in Clinical Research
Published on: October 22, 2014
Blood endothelin-1 and cold-induced vasodilation in patients with primary Raynauld's phenomenon and workers with
H Nakamura1, I Matsuzaki, K Hatta
1Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan. hiro-n@po.incl.ne.jp
Aim:
Cold water-immersion induces vasoconstriction with an elevation of blood endothelin-1, which is a potent vasoconstrictor peptide, in patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP). However, physiological involvement of endothelin-1 in cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) remains to be elucidated.
Methods:
We monitored changes of finger blood flow during cold water (10 degrees C) immersion and assayed blood endothelin-1 in 7 PRP patients and 7 workers with vibration-induced white finger (VWF) and in the respective control subjects.
Results:
While significant reductions in finger blood flow at 2 min after the immersion were observed in PRP patients and VWF workers, its elevation at 4 min, which was considered to reflect CIVD, was recognized only in PRP patients. In healthy controls, blood endothelin-1 increased at 4 min and returned to the basal level immediately after the immersion. The increase in blood endothelin-1 at 4 min in PRP patients was greater than that in controls, and continued even after the immersion. Conversely, the increase neither at 4 min nor after immersion was seen in VWF workers. Local vascular changes produced by repetitive vibration may be responsible for the attenuated CIVD and unchanged blood endothelin-1 during cold water-immersion in VWF workers.
Conclusion:
Our results showing elevated blood endothelin-1 during and after immersion in PRP contrast with that in VWF suggesting that endothelin-1 is related to sympathetic hyperactivity which is more involved in PRP rather than VWF. It seems unlikely that endothelin-1 is functionally or directly associated with CIVD.
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