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Gel Improves Blood Circulation In Patients With Raynaud’s Syndrome LONDON, UK -- November 12, 1999 -- Raynaud's syndrome is a disorder of the circulation in which blood vessels in the fingers constrict in response to cold or stress. Blood flow is decreased and the fingers turn white or even blue. In this week's issue of The Lancet, researchers report the use of a gel that increases the volume and flux of blood when applied to the fingers. Nitric oxide is known to cause blood vessels to dilate and can be generated by mixing sodium nitrite with ascorbic acid. Dr. Arthur Tucker and colleagues from St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, UK, created a nitric-oxide-generating gel from sodium nitrite mixed in KY jelly (a water-based lubricant) plus ascorbic acid mixed in KY jelly. They applied the gel to the fingers of one hand in 20 patients with severe Raynaud's syndrome and in 10 healthy controls. KY jelly alone (placebo) was applied to the fingers of the other hand. The researchers then measured changes in the volume and flux of blood in the capillaries by means of non-invasive techniques. The nitric-oxide-generating gel caused a significant increase in the volume of blood in the fingers of patients with Raynaud's syndrome, and in the controls. Flux also increased significantly in the patients, but not in the controls. The effects remained (at a lower level) when the gel was removed. The placebo gel had no effect. The researchers suggest that although, in its current form, the treatment is messy and can sting if applied to broken skin, the gel "may help attenuate vasospasms (constriction of blood vessels) in patients with severe Raynaud's syndrome, and may prove useful in other disorders of digital ischaemia". Related Links: The Lancet. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version