Assessment of Vasomotion of People With Idiopathic Chilblains
Condition: Chilblains; Perniosis; Thermoregulation
MeSH terms: Chilblains
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Chilblains, also known as perniosis, is a non-freezing cold injury causing painful
      inflammatory skin lesions. Chilblains typically affect the dorsal feet or hands, causing
      inflammatory skin lesions that are often painful, and their pathogenesis remains only partly
      understood. To improve diagnosis and management, it is vital to focus entirely on chilblains
      and consider the patient-related and environmental factors that characterize this disorder.
      Because of this, it's critical to investigate the thermoregulatory function, of individuals
      with idiopathic chilblains while they are exposed to various environmental conditions (cold
      and neutral environments).
    

Detailed description: 
      The participants will visit the laboratory three times. The environmental scenarios were
      randomly allocated for each participant.

      The three different environments will be as follows:

        1. Thermoneutral environment 22-24°C and 40-50% relative humidity for 15 minutes.

        2. Thermoneutral environment of 22-24°C and 40-50% relative humidity, the temperature
           within the chamber was decreased by 4 degrees every 20 minutes.

        3. Thermoneutral environment of 22-24°C and 40-50% relative humidity, the temperature
           within the chamber was decreased by 4 degrees every 20 minutes. After 80 minutes (the
           chamber's temperature will be 10°C and 40-50% relative humidity), the investigators
           increased the chamber temperature to 22-24 °C and 40-55% relative humidity, and the
           participants remained in the same sitting position for 20 minutes.

      All participants had antinuclear antibodies blood testing for a suspected autoimmune disease
      such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or scleroderma. Participants were provided blood
      (C-reactive protein and serum Cortisol) before, immediately after, and 24 hours after each
      trial and urine samples before and following the trials.

      Anthropometric data [self-reported age, self-reported body stature, and body mass (DXA,
      Lunar, GE Healthcare Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.)] will be collected at the beginning of the
      first visit. Investigators recorded the medical history of all the participants. During the
      study, continuous heart rate and heart rate variability (Polar Team2. Polar Electro Oy,
      Kempele, Finland), core temperature (telemetric capsules BodyCap, Caen, France), mean skin
      temperature (wireless thermistors iButtons type DS1921H, Maxim/Dallas Semiconductor Corp.,
      USA), finger temperature, skin blood flow (laser Doppler flow-meter PeriFlux System 5010,
      Stockholm, Sweden), and tissue oxygenation changes (Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, PortaLite
      mini, Artinis Medical Systems, Zetten, Netherlands) will be collected. Skin temperature data
      collected from seven sites (forehead, arm, thigh, hand, foot, tibialis anterior, navel) and
      will be expressed as mean skin temperature according to the formula of Hardy/Bubois (Tsk =
      [0.7 (forehead) + 0.14 (arm) + 0.05 (hand) + 0.07 (foot) + 0.13 (tibialis anterior) + 0.19
      (thigh) + 0.35 (navel)]. Hydration status was assessed using a handheld refractometer (ATAGO
      Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) and determined as either euhydrated (USG < 1.020) or dehydrated (USG ≥
      1.020) according to the current guidelines. Questionnaires (thermal sensation scale: -3 =
      cold; +3 = hot) assessed participants' thermal comfort/sensation and pain.
    

Intervention name(s): Assessment of Vasomotion of People With Idiopathic Chilblains
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Investigation of vasomotion of people with and without idiopathic chilblains
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Factorial Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Non-freezing cold injuries; Chilblains; Perniosis; Skin lesions; Vasomotion