Kinin Release during Cold Vasodilation in Man

Abstract

The reaction of cold vasodilatation was first observed by Sir Thomas Lewis in 1930, when he found that on exposure to cold the finger temperature showed an initial rapid drop, which was followed after several minutes by a sudden and rapid rise in the finger temperature, indicating considerable vasodilatation. This vasodilatation was not sustained, but alternated with periods of vasoconstriction, a phenomenon aptly described by Lewis as the Hunting Reaction. Subsequent animal research (Grant and Bland, 1931) showed that cold vasodilatation was due to the opening of A-V anastomoses, and this has been indirectly confirmed to be the mechanism in man. However, despite considerable research, the factors concerned in the opening up of the A-V anastomoses during cold vasodilatation have hitherto remained unknown. Armstrong et al. in 1965 produced in vitro evidence of liberation of plasma kinins at low temperatures. As these peptides are potent vasodilators, it was decided to study the possible role of kinins in the phenomenon of cold vasodilatation in man.