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Reduced vasoactive responses in port wine stains
1Department of Dermatology, General Infirmary, Leeds, U.K.
The British Journal of Dermatology
|May 1, 1990
Summary
Port wine stains show altered vascular responses to topical treatments. Reduced blood flow changes in port wine stains suggest impaired autonomic innervation, impacting skin vasculature.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Vascular Biology
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Port wine stains (PWS) are congenital vascular malformations.
- Their pathophysiology is not fully understood, but altered cutaneous vasculature is implicated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the autonomic innervation of cutaneous vasculature in port wine stains.
- To compare the vascular response of PWS lesions to normal skin following topical application of a vasodilator and a vasoconstrictor.
Main Methods:
- Laser-Doppler flowmetry and reflectance spectrophotometry were used to measure skin blood flow and hemoglobin content.
- 14 patients with PWS applied a vasodilating cream (Algipan), and 16 patients applied a corticosteroid tape (Haelan).
- Measurements were taken on PWS lesions and clinically normal contralateral skin.
Main Results:
- Vasodilator cream caused significantly reduced changes in blood flow in PWS compared to normal skin (P<0.01).
- Vasoconstrictor tape significantly reduced blood flow changes and hemoglobin content in PWS compared to normal skin (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis of reduced autonomic innervation in the cutaneous vasculature of port wine stains.
- This reduced innervation may explain the altered vascular reactivity observed in PWS lesions.