Skin blood flow and nitric oxide during body heating in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often exhibit microvascular dysfunction that may contribute to impaired thermoregulation, but potential mechanisms remain unclear. Our goals were to quantify skin blood flow responses and nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation during body heating in individuals with T2DM compared with nondiabetic control subjects of similar age. We measured skin blood flow (laser-Doppler flowmetry) in conjunction with intradermal microdialysis of N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) or vehicle during 45-60 min of whole body heating (WBH) in 10 individuals with T2DM and 14 control subjects.