Intermittent claudication features leg pain on walking, usually relieved by rest.
As the disease progresses, patients can walk shorter and shorter distances before having to rest to relieve pain. Their report is published in the November 1st issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The German team administered daily injections of L-arginine to a small group of patients for 3 weeks, then observed their leg function in treadmill tests. These improvements seemed to continue 6 weeks after the end of therapy, the authors add. Initial declines in leg pain were also observed in a group of patients treated with prostaglandin, another type of vasodilator.