Study of Norepinephrine Levels and Sympathetic Nervous System Activity

March 3, 2008 updated by: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Plasma Catecholamine Kinetics

Brain and nerve cells communicate with each other by releasing and picking up chemicals called neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter used by part of the nervous system activated during stress called the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is involved with regulating blood pressure and pulse rate. Researchers believe the level norepinephrine in the blood can be used to measure activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

This study is designed to answer important questions about rates of release of norepinephrine into the blood stream, removal of released norepinephrine, and the sympathetic nervous system response to stress.

Researchers will attempt to measure levels of norepinephrine and activity of the sympathetic nervous system in patients with high blood pressure, normal patients with family histories of high blood pressure, patients taking drugs that can effect levels of norepinephrine, and patients with diseases or conditions directly affecting the sympathetic nervous system.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

In order to examine sympathetic nervous system function in neurocardiological disorders and catecholaminergic effects of dietary manipulations or neuropsychiatric drugs, the protocol calls for evaluations of the kinetics of 3H-norepinephrine or 3H-epinephrine in patients with hypertension, dysautonomias, or disorders thought to involve abnormal catecholaminergic function, and in normotensive normal volunteers. Apparent spillover and clearance rates are estimated based on the norepinephrine or epinephrine concentration during the infusion and their steady-state specific activities, under resting conditions and in response to physiological or pharmacological manipulations thought to affect sympathetic outflows.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment

50

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Must be greater than or equal to 18 years of age.

Must not be pregnant or lactating.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 1992

Study Completion

September 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 4, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 3, 2008

Last Verified

September 1, 2002

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 920259
  • 92-N-0259

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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