Levels of high energy phosphate in the dorsal skin of the foot in normal and diabetic adults: The role of P-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy and direct quantification with high pressure liquid chromatography

Determining viability of tissues and wound-healing potential in diabetic pa tients remains a significant challenge, Current methods for preoperative as sessment of wound-healing potential (pressures in the ankle, temperature of tissues, transcutaneous measurements of oxygen, and systemic nutritional s tatus) are indirect, in that they characterize the delivery of oxygen or ot her nutrients to the cells, A noninvasive means to measure adenosine tripho sphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PCr), the fundamental high energy phospha te substrates of oxidative energy-metabolism in the skin, has been devised by using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The signal-to-noise ratio o f bioenergetic metabolites in the skin was 86% lower in five patients with diabetes who had ischemia of the lower extremity compared with five control subjects (P < 0.0001), suggesting that the concentration of high energy me tabolites in diabetic patients was reduced. The ratio of ATP/phosphocreatin e (PCr) in patients with diabetes was also significantly lower than in cont rols (P < 0.01). Chewing a single piece of nicotine gum reduced the measure d concentrations of ATP and PCr in control subjects by an average of 18% an d by an average of 75% in subjects with diabetes, To verify these results i n a second experiment, skin was harvested from the surgical wound sites in eight patients with diabetes undergoing elective amputation, eight patients with diabetes undergoing elective foot surgery, and ten age-matched contro l (nondiabetic) patients undergoing elective foot surgery, Analysis of ATP and PCr using high pressure liquid chromatography corroborated MRS findings , showing a significant reduction in ATP and PCr in diabetic skin, Depressi on of metabolites was more severe in the patients with diabetes undergoing amputation than in the ones undergoing elective surgery. Results demonstrat e depression of metabolites in the skin of patients with diabetes and sugge st that MRS with P-31 may be useful in characterizing metabolites in the sk in.