Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Sudomotor function in familial dysautonomia.

A Bickel1, F B Axelrod, H Marthol

  • 1Department of Neurology, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
|January 27, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Familial dysautonomia (FD) patients exhibit normal sweat gland function but hypersensitive sudomotor fibers. This hypersensitivity may explain excessive sweating in FD, despite reduced nerve fibers.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Altered resting-state functional connectivity of default mode network in brachioradial pruritus.

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV·2022
Same author

[Pruritus medicine-interdisciplinary exchange].

Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete·2020
Same author

[Pruritus-a long journey from neurophysiology to the clinic].

Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete·2020
Same author

[Erythromelalgia: skin redness and pain].

Schmerz (Berlin, Germany)·2019
Same author

[Cannabis-based drugs : Don't pit clinical experience and systematic reviews against each other].

Schmerz (Berlin, Germany)·2019
Same author

Cross-over evaluation of electrically induced pain and hyperalgesia.

Scandinavian journal of pain·2018

Area of Science:

  • Autonomic Neuropathy Research
  • Sweat Gland Physiology
  • Clinical Neurophysiology

Background:

  • Familial dysautonomia (FD) is characterized by autonomic neuropathy, often leading to reduced sudomotor fibers and sweat glands.
  • Despite reduced innervation, FD patients experience episodic hyperhidrosis, suggesting an underlying compensatory mechanism.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate peripheral sudomotor nerve fiber and sweat gland function in FD patients.
  • To determine if episodic hyperhidrosis in FD is caused by peripheral denervation hypersensitivity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized microdialysis to measure transepidermal water loss (TEWL) after acetylcholine application in 14 FD patients and 11 controls.
  • Assessed acetylcholine-induced protein extravasation as a marker of C-fiber function.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Compared microdialysis results with conventional quantitative sudomotor axon reflex testing (QSART).

    • Main Results:

    • No significant differences in direct or axon reflex-mediated sweat responses or protein extravasation between FD patients and controls.
    • FD patients exhibited a higher baseline resting sweat rate compared to controls (p<0.05).
    • TEWL and QSART results showed a significant correlation (r = 0.64, p = 0.01), validating TEWL methodology.

    Conclusions:

    • Normal sweat output in FD patients suggests sudomotor fibers, not sweat glands, develop chemical hypersensitivity.
    • This hypersensitivity may explain excessive sweating episodes linked to increased central sympathetic outflow in FD.
    • The findings highlight a novel mechanism contributing to hyperhidrosis in autonomic neuropathies.