• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.499-505
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• 2016

The quantitative sudomotor axon reflex testing (QSART) is a classic test of routine postganglionic sudomotor function. We investigated sudomotor function by QSART after summer (July 2012) and winter (January 2013) seasonal acclimation (SA) in the Republic of Korea. QSART with acetylcholine (ACh) iontophoresis were performed to determine directly activated (DIR) and axon reflex-mediated (AXR1, 2) sweating rate. Onset time of axon reflex, activated sweat gland density (ASGD), activated sweat gland output (ASGO), tympanic and skin temperatures ($T_{ty}$, $T_{sk}$), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and evaporative loss volume changes were measured. Tympanic and mean body temperature (${\bar{T}}_b$; calculated from $T_{ty}$, $T_{sk}$) were significantly lower after summer-SA than that of winter-SA. Sweat onset time was delayed during winter-SA compared to that after summer-SA. BMR, AXR(1), AXR(2), and DIR sweat rates, ASGD and ASGO, and evaporative loss volume were significantly diminished after winter-SA relative to after summer-SA. In conclusion, changes in sweating activity measured by QSART confirmed the involvement of the peripheral nervous system in variation of sudomotor activity in seasonal acclimation.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2022

Small fiber neuropathy is a painful neuropathy that cannot be assessed using nerve conduction studies. A skin biopsy and quantitative sensory testing (QST) are the gold standards for small fiber neuropathy diagnosis. However, a skin biopsy is invasive and commercially unavailable in Korea. QST is a method involving a thermal threshold, but its results can be affected by cognition as well as lesions of the central nervous system. Quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART) is a quantitative method of assessing sweat glands innervated by small fibers. In this review, we assessed the utility of QSART in evaluating small fiber neuropathy.