Neural control of renal function: Functionally specific populations of sympathetic nerves

肾脏由密集的神经网络供应。这些神经工作正常，有助于维持肾脏对血液的正常过滤。去往肾脏的神经过度活跃与充血性心力衰竭、肝硬变、慢性肾功能衰竭和高血压有关。关于这些神经，我们最近有了几个重大发现。我们的研究表明，基于结构和功能证据，刺激去往肾脏的神经纤维亚群将导致与肾脏不同的影响。因此，我们认为盐的排泄、肾脏血流量的控制和肾脏激素的释放可以由神经单独调节。利用仅在世界各地少数几个实验室进行实践的技术人员，我们的目标是确定神经如何正常控制肾脏功能。这些研究将提出肾神经可能与疾病有关的新方向。

The kidneys are supplied with a dense network of nerves. Working properly, these nerves help maintain normal filtering of the blood by the kidneys. Over-activity of the nerves going to the kidney is associated with congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis, chronic renal failure and hypertension. We have recently made several major discoveries about these nerves. Our studies suggest, based on structural and functional evidence, that stimulation of subgroups of nerve fibers going to the kidney will causes different effects with in the kidney . We therefore suggest that salt excretion , the control of blood flow to the kidney and the release of hormones by the kidney can be seperately regulated by the nerves. Using techinques only practise in a handful of laboratories around the world, we aim to determine to how the nerves control kidney function normally. These studies will suggest new directions in which the renal nerves may be implicated in disease.