Nitric oxide and central autonomic control of blood pressure: a neuroanatomical study of nitric oxide and cGMP expression in the brain and spinal cord
Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Essential hypertension is defined as a chronic elevation of blood pressure of unknown cause.Though a definitive trigger for this change in blood pressure has not been established, there is a strong association with an upregulation of sympathetic output from the central nervous system.There are a number of central autonomic nuclei involved in the maintenance of blood pressure, including the brainstem regions of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM), rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), the sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) within the intermediolateral cell column (IML) of the spinal cord, as well as forebrain regions such as the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus.Within these centers, a vast number of neurotransmitters have been identified that contribute to the control of blood pressure, including glutamate, angiotensin II, serotonin, neurotensin, neuropeptide Y, opioids and catecholamines.Recognition of the role of nitric oxide (NO) and its multiple influences over the neural control of blood pressure is gaining increasing significance.Nitric oxide is a unique modulatory molecule that acts as a non-conventional neurotransmitter.As NO is a gas with a short half-life of 4 -6 seconds, its' synthesising enzyme, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is often used as a marker of location of production.Once activated, the best-known "receptor" for NO is soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), which drives the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP).Identifying the presence of cGMP can therefore be used to determine sites receptive to NO.Previous studies examining the role of NO in the central autonomic control of blood pressure have focused predominantly upon application of either excitatory or inhibitory drugs into the key central autonomic regions and assessing pressor or depressor effects.This thesis aims instead to study What to say without sounding cliché?There are of course the obvious thankyous -Jackie for driving me nuts, Doug for always sounding terrified of me on the phone, and Leonard for….ummm,what do you look like again?Ok, just joking.Jackie you are an amazingly intelligent person who I truly admire.Doug, though you don't say much, what you do say is gold.Leonard, you always strive to make me think However, a thesis is an embodiment of work for which many more people need to be given credit for.To my fellow colleagues -thank you all for your various inputs.
Author: Kellysan Powers‐Martin
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1569484860