Effect of indoramin on finger circulation in patients with Raynaud disease

The effect of indoramin was investigated on finger circulation in 20 patients with primary Raynaud disease. After placebo run-in, indoramin (50 mg t.i.d. per os) and placebo were given double-blind and in randomized order, each for 6 (protocol 1) and 3 weeks (protocol 2). No significant changes in blood pressure and heart rate were observed. Finger blood flow, measured with venous occlusion plethysmograph, increased significantly (p less than 0.025) with indoramin as compared with placebo, and local calculated resistance decreased when measured at room temperature (protocol 1). In protocol 2 flow was measured at the end of a 6-min contact with water temperature of 40, 30, 20, 10 and 5 degrees C, respectively. It was shown that the difference between indoramin and placebo was largest at high temperatures and was clearly decreased at lower temperatures. Thus, the present data objectively document that indoramin is capable of favorably influencing skin circulation, but this effect is less pronounced at lower temperatures.