A marked pressor response to water drinking has been observed in patients with autonomic failure and in the elderly, and has been attributed to sympathetic vasoconstrictor activation, despite the absence of such a pressor response in healthy subjects with intact sympathetic mechanisms. We investigated whether water drinking in normal subjects affected peripheral sympathetic neural discharge and its effect on vascular resistance. In nine normal human subjects, we examined the effect of water ingestion on muscle sympathetic neural activity from the peroneal nerve, as multi-unit bursts (muscle sympathetic nerve activity; MSNA) and as single-unit impulses (s-MSNA) with vasoconstrictor function, and on calf vascular resistance for 120 min. In each subject, water ingestion caused increases in s-MSNA and MSNA which peaked at 30 min after ingestion; they increased respectively (mean±S.E.M.) from 42±4 to 58±5 impulses/100 beats (P < 0.01) and from 36±4 to 51±5 bursts/100 beats (P < 0.001). There were corresponding increases in calf vascular resistance and in plasma noradrenaline levels. A significant correlation occurred between all of these data. In conclusion, measurement of MSNA has provided direct evidence that water drinking in normal human subjects increases sympathetic nerve traffic, leading to peripheral vasoconstriction. This sympathetic activation was not accompanied by significant changes in arterial blood pressure.
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March 2001
Research Article|
February 12 2001
Water ingestion increases sympathetic vasoconstrictor discharge in normal human subjects
Eleanor M. SCOTT;
1Departments of Cardiology and Endocrinology, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, U.K.
Correspondence: Dr E. M. Scott.
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John P. GREENWOOD;
John P. GREENWOOD
1Departments of Cardiology and Endocrinology, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, U.K.
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Stephen G. GILBEY;
Stephen G. GILBEY
1Departments of Cardiology and Endocrinology, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, U.K.
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John B. STOKER;
John B. STOKER
1Departments of Cardiology and Endocrinology, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, U.K.
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David A. S. G. MARY
David A. S. G. MARY
1Departments of Cardiology and Endocrinology, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, U.K.
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Clin Sci (Lond) (2001) 100 (3): 335–342.
Article history
Received:
June 29 2000
Revision Received:
October 23 2000
Accepted:
November 17 2000
Citation
Eleanor M. SCOTT, John P. GREENWOOD, Stephen G. GILBEY, John B. STOKER, David A. S. G. MARY; Water ingestion increases sympathetic vasoconstrictor discharge in normal human subjects. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 March 2001; 100 (3): 335–342. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/cs1000335
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