Skin temperature response to thermal stimulus in patients with hyperhidrosis: A comparative study

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Autonomic Nervous System Research
• Dermatology

Background:

• Primary hyperhidrosis (HH) involves excessive sweating linked to autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
• HH patients show sympathetic over-activity, evidenced by altered responses to stimuli like the Valsalva maneuver.
• Potential dysregulation of skin blood flow in HH patients remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in skin blood flow regulation between HH patients and controls.
• To analyze thermoregulatory responses to thermal stimuli in glabrous skin areas.
• To explore if sympathetic tone in arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) differs in HH patients.

Main Methods:

• Infrared thermography was used to capture skin temperature patterns.
• Participants included 37 HH patients and 16 age/sex-matched controls.
• Thermal stimuli involved increasing room temperature from 20°C to 32°C, analyzing 44 regions of interest.

Main Results:

• At baseline (20°C), HH patients had higher core temperature (inner canthus).
• Upon heating, core temperature differences vanished, but HH patients showed lower temperatures in axilla and palms.
• HH patients demonstrated a diminished thermoregulatory response to increased room temperature.

Conclusions:

• Primary hyperhidrosis patients exhibit impaired thermoregulation and altered skin blood flow responses.
• A potential vasomotor sympathetic over-function in AVAs may contribute to these findings in HH.
• These results highlight a link between autonomic dysfunction and vascular regulation in hyperhidrosis.