Total forearm blood flow as an indicator of skeletal muscle blood flow: effect of subcutaneous adipose tissue blood flow

E.E. Blaak*, M.A. van Baak, G.J. Kemerink, M.T. Pakbiers, G.A.K. Heidendal, W.H.M. Saris

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Total forearm blood flow as an indicator of skeletal muscle blood flow: effect of subcutaneous adipose tissue blood flow.

Blaak EE, van Baak MA, Kemerink GJ, Pakbiers MT, Heidendal GA, Saris WH.

Department of Human Biology, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

1. In studying forearm skeletal muscle substrate exchange, an often applied method for estimating skeletal muscle blood flow is strain gauge plethysmography. A disadvantage of this method is that it only measures total blood flow through a segment of forearm and not the flow through the individual parts such as skin, adipose tissue and muscle. 2. In the present study the contribution of forearm subcutaneous adipose tissue blood flow to total forearm blood flow was evaluated in lean (% body fat 17.0 +/- 2.2) and obese males (% body fat 30.9 +/- 1.6) during rest and during infusion of the non-selective beta-agonist isoprenaline. Measurements were obtained of body composition (hydrostatic weighing), forearm composition (magnetic resonance imaging) and of total forearm (venous occlusion plethysmography), skin (skin blood flow, laser Doppler), and subcutaneous adipose tissue blood flow (133Xe washout technique). 3. The absolute forearm area and the relative amount of fat (% of forearm area) were significantly higher in obese as compared to lean subjects, whereas the relative amounts of muscle and skin were similar. 4. During rest, the percentage contribution of adipose tissue blood flow to total forearm blood flow was significantly higher in lean compared with obese subjects (19 vs 12%, P < 0.05), whereas there were no differences in percentage contribution between both groups during isoprenaline infusion (10 vs 13%). Furthermore, the contribution of adipose tissue blood flow to total forearm blood flow was significantly lower during isoprenaline infusion than during rest in lean subjects (P < 0.05), whereas in the obese this value was similar during rest and during isoprenaline infusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)559-566
JournalClinical Science
Volume87
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 1994

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