Evidence for an Adrenergic Component in the Nervous Mechanism of Sweating in Man. ∗

Abstract

In the course of an investigation on the vasomotor effects of Dibenamine† (N,N-dibenzyl-β-chloroethylamine hydrochloride), a new adrenergic-blocking agent, it was found that spontaneous palmar sweating in man was inhibited. The interpretation of this observation appeared to be at variance with the known concept of the strictly cholinergic innervation of these glands.

The apparent discrepancy between our observation and the classical concept of the nature of the nervous supply to the sweat glands prompted this investigation.

Methods and Material. A colorimetric method, developed by Silverman and Powell, 1 was used for determining the presence and the amount of sweating. Prints of the sweat glands were obtained on paper treated with tannic acid. The tannic acid reacts with the iron of ferric chloride painted on the skin, to form a stain on the paper ranging from gray-blue to blue-black. The size and intensity of the resulting pattern are directly proportional to the amount of sweat secreted.

Sweat prints of the palms were taken in all instances. Occasionally those of the forehead, cheeks, forearm and plantar region of the feet were also taken. In conjunction with the study on sweat, measurements of skin temperature of the head and the upper and lower extremities were recorded in all cases. These determinations were made under basal conditions. The environmental temperature ranged from 72° to 76°F, with a fairly constant humidity. Sweat prints and thermometric changes were recorded before and after the administration of Dibenamine. The latter was administered by the intravenous route, at the dosage of 5 mg per kg of body weight. The exact details of the method of administration were reported in a previous publication. 2

The anhidrotic effects of this adrenergic-blocking drug were studied 52 times in 24 subjects, using the colorimetric method. In addition, at the early stage of this investigation, simple clinical observations of the suppression of sweating were made 8 times in 2 other subjects. Eleven of these subjects had essential hypertension, 8 had various vascular conditions, and 7 had various neurological syndromes.