Dear VesselLady Tina Nack,

Concerning your interest in current literature about RSD, I have got a very
good book about this subject. The name of the book is: Reflex Sympathetic
Dystrophy, with the undertitle: Pathophysiological Mechanismus and Clinical
Implications. This book is edited by Wilfrid Janig and Robert F. Schmidt.
The publisher is "VCH". It is printed 1992. Then I have searched for
articles about RSD-syndrome at the "DATA STAR" computerbank and by doing
that I have got many good articles new and old about this syndrome. I think
that this syndrome is much more common than the most of us working in this
area would have believed few years ago but it is very important to diagnose
it in the first 6 months after it begins. Then there is a possiblity to
stop it by giving medical treatment. Otherwise it often gets chronic and
although it mostly starts in one extremity it often seems to expand to the
other extremities also on the other side of the body.
We have been trying to diagnose this syndrome by combining clinicalsymptoms
and measurements which we do to try to detect "autonome dysfunctio". The
big question is. How can we by measuring bloodflow or pressure by
Laser-doppler or plethysmographs know that we are having a response from
the "autonome system".
I will explain to you later what we really try to measure when we think we
are checking on the "autonome nerve system" but this is a very difficult
syndrome to
diagnose and it is not often that you know for sure that you now really
have a patient with RSD-syndrome.
Looking forward to hear from you and others who are interested in
diagnosing RSD-syndrome by vascular methods. 
Gu mundur S. Jonsson

University of Iceland,
Medical Faculty
Laboratory for Clinical Physics
Laeknagardur, Vatnsmyrarvegi 16,
101 Reykjavik
Iceland

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TEL.354 5254890
FAX.354 5254884