Physiology And Beyond

Hypertension is the largest single contributor to global mortality, with approximately 25% of the population suffering from increased blood pressure. Hypertension is also a great economical burden with around 10% economic spent on therapies. However, though there are currently a myriad of potential therapeutics available around only half of current patients respond to the traditionally available treatment. This can be attributed to the complex presentation of the illness, with a combination of epigentics and environments resulting in a non-specific cause of hypertension in over 90% patients. Though the risk factors arising from hypertension are widely known, such as stroke, kidney failure and hear disease, the underlying mechanism of the pathophysiology is still not fully understood. Increased sympathetic nerve activity is widely recognised as a contributor to the increased blood pressure, however the precise cause of this is not known. In animal models of hypertension and in ...

The act of breathing is often automatic and unforced. However, the respiratory physiology that underpins automatic, unconscious breathing is complex, with scientific consensus yet to be reached regarding many of its aspects. In 1873 Legallois identified the kernel of breathing control to be at the level of brainstem, breathing continued even with the removal of the cerebrum. In the 1980s, the repiratory area was narrowed to the Pons and Medulla of the brainstem, this was discovered following in vivo experimentation in cats, as surgical removal of the brain below this level was followed by a cessation of the automatic respiratory rhythm. This subsequently led to the discovery of the pontine, ventral and dorsal respiratory groups (the PRG, VRG and respectively). Withing these respiratory groups clusters of respiratory neurons are found, so-called due to firing at a distinctive point of the respiratory cycle. Respiratory are key in modulating the respiratory cycle, while some...