Kinetics and biological responses of dermal application of nitric oxide in vivo: Therapeutical potential in humans

Many local hemodynamic and vascular disorders may be the result of impaired bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO). Previous findings point to a therapeutic potential of dermal NO application in the treatment of hemodynamic disorders, but no reliable data are available on the mechanisms, kinetics and biological responses of cutaneous NO exposure in humans in vivo. Here we show that due to its excellent diffusion capacity, cutaneously applied NO rapidly and in significant amounts penetrates the epidermal barrier, strongly enriched in skin tissue or blood plasma in the form of its vasoactive derivates, and in parallel significantly increased vasodilatation and blood flow, and reduced the thrombocyte aggregation capacity. Data presented for the first time give evidence that in humans dermal NO application has a strong potential in the therapy of local hemodynamic disorders arising from insufficient availability of NO or its bio-active derivates, respectively.