THE EFFECT OF SLEEP ON SKIN TEMPERATURE REACTIONS IN A CASE OF ACROCYANOSIS

Abstract

In a 6 yr. old girl suffering from acrocyanosis, it was noted that during sleep there was complete vaso-dilatation; the skin of the distal parts of the extremities responded in a parallel way with the proximal portions to local and general changes in the environmental temp. When awake, the distal portions of the extremities always showed evidence of yaso-spasm. The child also had periodic episodes of vomiting, which seemed to be the result of pyloric spasm. She had peculiar blotchy red areas on the skin of the trunk which appeared in temper tantrums, and on successive days would occasionally show the same pattern. The evidence in this case pointed to widespread disorder of the sympathetic nervous system as the cause of the acrocyanosis, rather than to local fault of the vessels.