Neural Mechanisms of Autonomic Dysfunction in Neurological Diseases
1University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
2University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA
3Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, USA
4Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
Neural Mechanisms of Autonomic Dysfunction in Neurological Diseases
Description
Autonomic dysregulation develops in many neurological diseases as a consequence of or a casual primary disease. This condition is also called autonomic neuropathy or dysautonomia and ranges from mild to life-threatening with impact on a part of or the entire autonomic nervous system. Extensive studies have been performed to elucidate the neural plasticity of autonomic dysfunction in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and neurogenic hypertension. Recent research progress has revealed that dysautonomia also importantly contributes to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. In this regard, autonomic dysregulation could lead to insulin resistance, altered lipid metabolism, and hypertension in metabolic syndrome. In a certain sensorium, autonomic dysfunction is associated with multiple diseases (e.g., diabetes mellitus and depression), suggesting that autonomic dysfunction is possibly a common mechanism governing the pathology of multiple diseases. Thus, recovering altered autonomic function provides a potential therapy to treat certain neurological diseases. However, the role of autonomic dysfunction in the genesis or maintenance of the pathology of neurological diseases remains to be elucidated.
For this reason, in this special issue, we invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will help us better understand the relationship between neural plasticity and autonomic dysfunction in neurological diseases. We encourage authors to submit original and novel findings that are not yet published or that are not currently under review by other journals or peer-reviewed conferences to this special issue.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Synaptic mechanisms of autonomic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and depression
- Neural mechanisms regulating autonomic dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart failure
- Mechanisms linking autonomic dysregulation and insulin resistance in metabolic diseases
- Impaired central and peripheral neurotransmission and its contribution to elevated sympathetic outflow in hypertension
- Dysautonomia related to neural plasticity in response to external environmental changes such as stress and traumatic brain injury
- Hormonal and/or neurotransmitter imbalances leading to autonomic dysfunction