Essential Hypertension: Central and Peripheral Norepinephrine

The concentration of norepinephrine in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with essential hypertension is higher than that from healthy normal volunteers, but the concentrations of norepinephrine in plasma from these groups are similar. This finding indicates that central nervous system noradrenergic hyperactivity occurs in essential hypertension but apparently is not reflected in abnormal function of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system in these patients.