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The Effects of Cold Adaptation on Skin Blood Flow, Hand Function, and Comfort in Healthy Adults

NCT05464758 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 16

Last updated 2025-12-26

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

In cold weather environments, blood flow to the extremities is significantly reduced, which severely impairs hand function and induces thermal discomfort. Prolonged or repeated cold exposure elicits an adaptive habituation response that is characterized by blunted skin vasoconstriction and thus may be an effective strategy to improve peripheral perfusion, reduce thermal discomfort, and maintain hand function during cold weather military operations. Since mission conditions often involve low ambient temperatures, countermeasures that reduce cold-induced decrements in hand function and thermal comfort are important to enhance Warfighter readiness in cold weather battlefield environments. The goals of this study are to 1) evaluate the effectiveness of cold habituation in improving skin blood flow, hand function, and thermal comfort during cold exposure and 2) identify the mechanisms that contribute to improvements in skin blood flow following habituation.

Conditions

  • Cold Exposure

Interventions

OTHER

Repeated cold exposure

8 consecutive days of exposure to 8°C air for 120 minutes each day

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

    lead FED

Principal Investigators

  • Billie K Alba, Ph.D. · United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
39 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-08-01
Primary Completion
2024-09-13
Completion
2024-09-13

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05464758 on ClinicalTrials.gov