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Central nervous system control of blood pressure

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Mild Hypertension

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Abstract

Increased awareness of the effects on the central nervous system (CNS) of untreated hypertension has fostered a successful era of preventive medicine within neurology. The decline in mortality from stroke within the last decade is partly a result of early detection and treatment of hypertension. Conversely, the role of the CNS as a cause of hypertension is currently the focus of major research efforts in neuropharmacology. New classes and generations of antihypertensive drugs have been designed as a result of an increased understanding of the involvement of CNS in blood pressure control. One example is clonidine which, although initially developed as a nasal decongestant, has been successfully used as an antihypertensive and a pharmacological research tool. This paper will briefly review the role of the CNS in blood pressure control and the assessment of sympathetic neuronal function in man.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institutes of Health, N.I.N.C.D.S., Bethesda, Maryland, 20205, USA

    Ronald J. Polinsky M.D.

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  1. Ronald J. Polinsky M.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hypertension Center, Veterans Administration Center, 5901 East 7th Street, 90822, Long Beach, California, USA

    M. A. Weber

  2. Medical Unit, St. Mary’ Hospital Medical School, Norfolk Place, W2 1PG, London, Great Britain

    C. J. Mathias M. B., B. S., D. Phil., M. R. C. P. (Senior Wellcome Fellow in Clinical Science, Honorary Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer in Medicine) (Senior Wellcome Fellow in Clinical Science, Honorary Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer in Medicine)

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© 1984 Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag, GmbH & Co. KG, Darmstadt

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Polinsky, R.J. (1984). Central nervous system control of blood pressure. In: Weber, M.A., Mathias, C.J. (eds) Mild Hypertension. Steinkopff. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85334-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85334-0_2

  • Publisher Name: Steinkopff

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-85336-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-85334-0

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