Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2002; 7: 98
In complementary medicine, very often functional problems are treated. Yet, few objective methods for measuring functional changes exist. Micro-lightguide spectrometric measurement of changes of local haemoglobin oxygenation and concentration is a highly sensitive non-invasive method to detect early changes of microcirculation and may therefore be a useful tool in complementary research.
A micro-lightguide spectrophotometer was used in healthy non-smokers, smokers and in patients with hypertension of different severity and duration or in chronic fatigue syndrome. The spontaneous variation of skin capillary haemoglobin oxygenation and concentration was measured online in addition to changes after repetitive applications of a local cold wrap.
The spontaneous variation of haemoglobin oxygenation and concentration was reduced in smokers and in patients with severe hypertension; oxygenation was reduced in chronic fatigue syndrome compared with healthy persons. These groups also showed a reduced variance of their answers to the repetitive cold wrap test.
Micro-lightguide spectrometric measurement of haemoglobin oxygenation and concentration is a sensitive tool to determine the functional capacity of local skin capillary regulation.
