Renal nerves in hypertension.

In experimental hypertension, renal denervation prevents or delays the onset of the disease. Classically, renal denervation implies surgical interruption of the renal nerve bundles. This results in destruction of efferent as well as afferent renal nerves. Efferent renal nerves may directly alter renal function and/or humoral mechanisms like the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, thereby affecting blood pressure. Afferent renal nerves, on the other hand, may modulate sympathetic nervous and neurohumoral mechanisms that are involved in blood pressure control. Thus, each nerve population may contribute to the disease. Evidence for such involvements of both sections of the renal nervous system is discussed.