Obesity hypertension: role of leptin and sympathetic nervous system

Obesity may account for as much as 65% to 75% of human essential hypertension in most industrialized countries. Excess renal sodium reabsorption and a hypertensive shift of renal-pressure natriuresis play a key role in mediating obesity hypertension. Sympathetic activation contributes to obesity-induced sodium retention and hypertension because adrenergic blockade or renal denervation markedly attenuates these changes. Recent observations suggest that leptin and its multiple interactions with other neurochemical pathways in the hypothalamus may be a partial link between excess weight gain and increased sympathetic activity. Short-term administration of leptin into the cerebral ventricles increases renal sympathetic activity, and long-term intravenous leptin infusions in nonobese rodents at rates that raise plasma concentrations to the levels found in severe obesity increase arterial pressure and heart rate through adrenergic activation. Also, transgenic mice that overexpress leptin develop hypertension. Acute studies suggest that the renal sympathetic effects of leptin may depend on interactions with other neurochemical pathways in the hypothalamus, including melanocortin-4 receptors. However, it is unclear whether this pathway or others, such as neuropeptide Y, mediate the long-term effects of leptin on blood pressure. In addition, leptin has other actions, such as stimulation of nitric oxide formation and enhancement of insulin sensitivity, which may tend to reduce blood pressure in some conditions. Although the precise role of these complex interactions in human obesity has not been elucidated, this is an important area for further investigation, especially considering the current epidemic of obesity in most industrialized countries.