title: Revelations about carotid body function through its pathological role in resistant hypertension.
abstract: Much recent attention has been given to the carotid body because of its potential role in cardiovascular disease states. One disease, neurogenic hypertension, characterised by excessive sympathetic activity, appears dependent on carotid body activity that may or may not be accompanied by sleep-disordered breathing. Herein, we review recent literature suggesting that the carotid body acquires tonicity in hypertension. We predict that carotid glomectomy will be a powerful way to temper excessive sympathetic discharge in diseases such as hypertension. We propose a model to explain that signalling from the 'hypertensive' carotid body is tonic, and hypothesise that there will be a sub-population of glomus cells that channel separately into reflex pathways controlling sympathetic motor outflows.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiology & Pharmacology, Bristol Heart Institute, University of Bristol, Medical Sciences Building, Bristol, England, UK. Julian.F.R.Paton@Bristol.ac.uk
authors.forename: Julian F R
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Paton
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ratcliffe
authors.forename: Dagmara
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hering
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sobotka
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Narkiewicz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology