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Neurocardiology: therapeutic implications for cardiovascular disease
1Clinical Neurocardiology Section, Clinical Neurosciences Program, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. goldsteind@ninds.nih.gov
Insights
Neurocardiology explores nervous and cardiovascular system interactions. Understanding catecholamine system disorders through scientific integrative medicine offers new therapeutic approaches beyond single drugs.
Area of Science:
- Neurocardiology
- Integrative Medicine
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Neurocardiology examines the interplay between the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
- Disorders involving catecholamine systems are a key focus.
- Scientific integrative medicine offers a systems-based approach to understanding regulatory disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review cardiovascular therapeutic implications in neurocardiology.
- To highlight the role of catecholamine system abnormalities.
- To integrate concepts of scientific integrative medicine into neurocardiology.
Main Methods:
- Selective review of neurocardiology literature.
- Application of systems concepts (feedback, allostasis) from integrative medicine.
- Analysis of therapeutic strategies for catecholamine-related disorders.
Main Results:
- Catecholamine system abnormalities significantly impact neurocardiology.
- Scientific integrative medicine provides a framework for understanding complex regulatory disorders.
- Current and emerging treatments address hyper- and hypofunctional catecholamine states.
Conclusions:
- The future of neurocardiology therapeutics lies in integrative approaches.
- Considering concurrent chronic conditions and treatment interactions is crucial.
- A systems-thinking approach enhances understanding and management of neurocardiologic disorders.
Abstract:
The term "neurocardiology" refers to physiologic and pathophysiological interplays of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. This selective review provides an update about cardiovascular therapeutic implications of neurocardiology, with emphasis on disorders involving primary or secondary abnormalities of catecholamine systems. Concepts of scientific integrative medicine help understand these disorders. Scientific integrative medicine is not a treatment method or discipline but a way of thinking that applies systems concepts to acute and chronic disorders of regulation. Some of these concepts include stability by negative feedback regulation, multiple effectors, effector sharing, instability by positive feedback loops, allostasis, and allostatic load. Scientific integrative medicine builds on systems biology but is also distinct in several ways. A large variety of drugs and non-drug treatments are now available or under study for neurocardiologic disorders in which catecholamine systems are hyperfunctional or hypofunctional. The future of therapeutics in neurocardiology is not so much in new curative drugs as in applying scientific integrative medical ideas that take into account concurrent chronic degenerative disorders and interactions of multiple drug and non-drug treatments with each other and with those disorders.
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