The Autonomic Nervous System and Obesity

Summary

In its simplest terms, obesity is the results of a positive balance between food intake and energy expenditure (EE). I.e., we take in more energy, in the form of food, than we expend, e.g., by exercise. In our sedentary society, resting EE accounts for most of total energy expenditure. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS, the one that produces adrenaline) is thought to contribute to resting EE. This conclusion is based on experiments where resting EE is decreased by beta-blockers, high blood pressure medicines that block only one aspect of the sympathetic nervous system. The investigators propose to use a different approach, by using a medication called trimethaphan that produces transient withdrawal of the autonomic nervous system. The investigators will then compare the measured resting EE before and after SNS withdraw and quantify the degree of contribution to the resting EE by the SNS and delineate differences between healthy normal, healthy obese, and patients with autonomic dysfunctions.

Timeline

Start

2003-04

Primary completion

2017-01

Completion

2017-01

Publications

• Results Shibao C, Gamboa A, Diedrich A, Ertl AC, Chen KY, Byrne DW, Farley G, Paranjape SY, Davis SN, Biaggioni I. Autonomic contribution to blood pressure and metabolism in obesity. Hypertension. 2007 Jan;49(1):27-33. doi: 10.1161/01.HYP.0000251679.87348.05. Epub 2006 Nov 20.
• Results Shibao C, Buchowski MS, Chen KY, Yu C, Biaggioni I. Chronic sympathetic attenuation and energy metabolism in autonomic failure. Hypertension. 2012 May;59(5):985-90. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.190157. Epub 2012 Apr 2.

Drugs

Indications