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Updated: Jul 2, 2026
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Quantifying Acute Changes in Renal Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Response to Central Nervous System Manipulations in Anesthetized Rats
Published on: September 11, 2018
Sympathetic neural mechanisms in human hypertension
Ronald G Victor1, Moiz M Shafiq
1Internal Medicine, Hypertension Division, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. ronald.victor@utsouthwestern.edu
Current Hypertension Reports
|September 4, 2008
Summary
The sympathetic nervous system is an understudied therapeutic target for hypertension. Research suggests novel strategies involving combined alpha/beta-blockers and RAAS blockers may help manage hypertension.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Nephrology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is well-researched for hypertension, but the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) role remains less understood.
- Hypertension management often overlooks the SNS, a critical regulator of blood pressure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the therapeutic potential of targeting the sympathetic nervous system in human hypertension.
- To review recent findings and their implications for novel hypertension treatments.
Main Methods:
- Utilized microelectrode recordings to assess sympathetic nerve activity.
- Employed radiotracer measurements of regional norepinephrine spillover in hypertensive patients.
Main Results:
- Identified potential therapeutic implications for targeting the SNS in hypertension.
- Found a stronger rationale for combined alpha/beta-blockers in early and obesity-related hypertension.
- Suggested RAAS blockers as central sympatholytics for kidney disease-related hypertension.
- Highlighted the role of increased dialysis dose in reducing kidney-initiated blood pressure-raising reflexes.
Conclusions:
- The sympathetic nervous system presents a promising, yet under-explored, therapeutic target for hypertension.
- Novel strategies involving combined alpha/beta-blockers and RAAS blockers warrant further investigation.
- Optimizing dialysis may mitigate hypertension in chronic kidney disease patients.
- Further outcomes trials are essential to translate these findings into clinical practice.
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