Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 77, Issue 1 11-14, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Maximal skin blood flow is decreased in elderly men

G. A. Rooke, M. V. Savage and G. L. Brengelmann
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98195.

When subjected to total body heating and exercise, skin blood flow does not increase as much in elderly as in young subjects. It is not known whether this age-related decline is due to the autonomic dysfunction that develops in the elderly or to changes at the level of the blood vessels of the skin. We used local heating of the forearm to quantify the intrinsic ability of the cutaneous vasculature to dilate in seven young men (avg age 31 yr) and seven elderly men (avg age 71 yr). A water spray was used to maintain a neutral skin temperature of 32-35 degrees C for > 10 min, followed by 60 min of a 42 degrees C skin temperature to induce maximal skin blood flow. Forearm blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography with a mercury-in-Silastic circumference gauge. At the neutral skin temperature, forearm blood flows in the elderly subjects were comparable to those in the young subjects: 3.0 +/- 0.5 vs. 2.8 +/- 1.0 ml.min-1 x 100 ml-1. During the last 10 min of heating, however, blood flows were much lower in the elderly than in the young subjects: 11.1 +/- 2.7 vs. 19.9 +/- 5.2 ml.min-1 x 100 ml-1 (P = 0.002). We conclude that aging results in a reduction of the maximal conductance of the cutaneous vasculature.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. A. Black, D. J. Green, and N. T. Cable Exercise prevents age-related decline in nitric-oxide-mediated vasodilator function in cutaneous microvessels J. Physiol., July 15, 2008; 586(14): 3511 - 3524. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Ogrin, P. Darzins, and Z. Khalil Age-Related Changes in Microvascular Blood Flow and Transcutaneous Oxygen Tension Under Basal and Stimulated Conditions J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., February 1, 2005; 60(2): 200 - 206. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. E. Wilson, K. D. Monahan, D. S. Short, and C. A. Ray Effect of age on cutaneous vasoconstrictor responses to norepinephrine in humans Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, November 1, 2004; 287(5): R1230 - R1234. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. L. Kenney and T. A. Munce Invited Review: Aging and human temperature regulation J Appl Physiol, December 1, 2003; 95(6): 2598 - 2603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Munce and W. L. Kenney Age-specific modification of local cutaneous vasodilation by capsaicin-sensitive primary afferents J Appl Physiol, September 1, 2003; 95(3): 1016 - 1024. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. G. Crandall, M. Shibasaki, T. E. Wilson, J. Cui, and B. D. Levine Prolonged head-down tilt exposure reduces maximal cutaneous vasodilator and sweating capacity in humans J Appl Physiol, June 1, 2003; 94(6): 2330 - 2336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Holowatz, B. L. Houghton, B. J. Wong, B. W. Wilkins, A. W. Harding, W. L. Kenney, and C. T. Minson Nitric oxide and attenuated reflex cutaneous vasodilation in aged skin Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, May 1, 2003; 284(5): H1662 - H1667. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Munce and W. L. Kenney Age-Specific Skin Blood Flow Responses to Acute Capsaicin J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., April 1, 2003; 58(4): B304 - 310. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Pierzga, A. Frymoyer, and W. L. Kenney Delayed distribution of active vasodilation and altered vascular conductance in aged skin J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2003; 94(3): 1045 - 1053. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]