Irrespective of the associated disease, one of two mechanisms seems to be operative in the pathogenesis—either an arterial constriction or a decrease in the intraluminal pressure. The former, in purest form, is observed in young women on exposure to cold and aggravated by emotional stress; a decrease in intraluminal pressure is associated with arterial obstruction. Treatment is directed to the associated conditions and prevention of precipitating factors. Cervicothoracic sympathectomy has not proved to be an effective measure.
Treatment Avoidance of cold exposure is an obvious strategy, as almost all affected patients have discovered by the time they see the physician. Drugs that cause vasoconstriction are interdicted (ergots, sympathomimetics, clonidine, and serotonin receptor agonists). Calcium channel blockers are most effective, nifedipine being the most widely used, in doses of 30 to 60 mg/d. Other treatments are summarized in the review by Wigley.
Erythromelalgia, first described by S. Weir Mitchell, is a condition in which the feet and lower extremities become red and painful on exposure to warm temperatures for prolonged periods (see the section on this disease in Chap. 10, where the clinical and genetic aspects of this illness are described).
Disorders of Sweating
Hyperhidrosis results from overactivity of sudomotor nerve fibers under a variety of conditions. It may occur as an initial excitatory phase of certain peripheral neuropathies (e.g., because of arsenic or thallium) and be followed by anhidrosis; it is one aspect of the reflex sympathetic dystrophy pain syndromes (see Chap. 7). This is also observed as a localized effect in painful mononeuropathies (causalgia) and diffusely in a number of painful polyneuropathies (“burning foot” syndrome). A type of nonthermoregulatory hyperhidrosis may occur in spinal paraplegics, as mentioned earlier. Loss of sweating in one part of the body may require a compensatory increase in normal parts—for example, the excessive facial and upper truncal sweating that occurs in patients with transection of the high thoracic cord.
Localized hyperhidrosis may be a troublesome complaint in some patients. One variety, presumably of congenital origin, affects the palms. The social embarrassment of a “succulent hand” or a “dripping paw” is often intolerable. It is taken to be a sign of nervousness, although many persons with this condition disclaim all other anxiety symptoms. Cold, clammy hands are common in individuals with anxiety; indeed, this has been a useful sign in distinguishing an anxiety state from hyperthyroidism, in which the hands are also moist but warm. Extirpation of T2 and T3 sympathetic ganglia relieves the more severe cases of palmar sweating; a Horner syndrome does not develop if the T1 ganglion is left intact. In other cases, the hyperhidrosis affects mainly the feet or the axillae. Treatment with local injections of botulinum toxin has been useful and is now favored over ablative procedures.
Anhidrosis in restricted skin areas is a frequent and useful finding in peripheral nerve disease. It is caused by the interruption of the postganglionic sympathetic fibers, and its boundaries can be mapped by means of the sweat tests described earlier in the chapter. The loss of sweating corresponds to the area of sensory loss. In contrast, sweating is not affected in restricted spinal root disease because there is much intersegmental mixing of the preganglionic axons once they enter the sympathetic chain and there are no preganglionic autonomic fibers in the roots below L3.
A postinfectious anhidrosis syndrome has been described, sometimes accompanied by mild orthostatic hypotension. This process is probably a limited form of the “pure pandysautonomia” described earlier. Corticosteroids are said to be beneficial but the process is so infrequent that there are no dependable data.