Autonomic Nervous System

What is the autonomic nervous system?

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a regulatory branch of the central nervous system that helps people adapt to changes in their environment. It adjusts or modifies some functions in response to stress. The ANS helps regulate...

blood vessels' size and blood pressure
the heart's electrical activity and ability to contract
the bronchium's (BRON'ke-um) diameter (and thus air flow) in the lungs
The ANS also regulates the movement and work of the stomach, intestine and salivary glands, the secretion of insulin and the urinary and sexual functions. The ANS acts through a balance of its two components, the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.
What is autonomic failure?

Malfunction of the ANS is called autonomic failure. It results from an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. Aging is associated with several abnormalities in ANS function that can impair elderly people's adaptation to stress.

The most common signs of ANS impairment are ...

a drop in blood pressure when a person is standing or stands up suddenly (orthostatic hypotension) or
a drop in blood pressure within one hour of eating a meal (postprandial hypotension).
The drop in blood pressure causes inadequate blood flow to the brain. That's why it's common for people with this problem to feel dizzy or lightheaded. These conditions occur more often in people with high blood pressure.
Several abnormalities make normal elderly people more likely to have low blood pressure. The onset of disease in old age, such as diabetes, stroke and Parkinson's disease, as well as medications used to treat them, may have other adverse effects in the ANS that are obvious in the cardiovascular system.

How is autonomic failure diagnosed and treated?

There are many tests of the ANS. Most of them easy to perform but hard to interpret individually. The most valuable diagnostic resources are a carefully taken history and a physical exam.

So far there's no cure for autonomic disorders. Still, several physical measures and drugs can help people with autonomic failure prevent low blood pressure or feel less uncomfortable during episodes.

Applying external pressure to the lower half of the body helps prevent blood from pooling in the legs. This maintains blood pressure and improves blood flow to the brain. Custom-fitted counterpressure support garments are used for this.
Physical maneuvers are easy to apply and effective in combating standing dizziness. Leg-crossing, squatting, abdominal compression and bending forward are examples of these maneuvers.
Fludrocortisone (FLOO'dro-COR'tih-sOn) is a drug that's been very successful in retaining water and maintaining blood pressure in autonomic failure. Many patients respond to a combination of the maneuvers listed above and fludrocortisone. For more severe cases, further drug intervention is required.

Shaping the future mobile information society

In recent years, the world has seen an explosion in the growth of information and communication technologies, and particularly mobile communications. 2002 marked a turning point in the history of telecommunications in that the number of mobile subscribers overtook the number of fixed-line subscribers on a global scale, and mobile became the dominant technology for voice communications. Indeed, the mobile phone has moved beyond being a mere technological object to become a key "social object" present in every aspect of our daily lives.
The combination of mobile with Internet and IP-based technologies, and the integration of fixed and mobile technologies, raises a host of possibilities for innovative applications and new modes of interaction. Wireless applications of pervasive or ubiquitous technologies conjure up images of intelligent homes and always-on human monitoring. Already, location-based technologies can help police and parents protect children from abductions or other forms of crimes. Combined with customized advertising, such location technologies can be a boon to retailers wishing to promote their products to potential buyers passing by. Multimedia messaging services (MMS) and streaming mobile video are opening up more exciting person-to-person services and customized entertainment. Although predicting the future is a risky business in the telecommunication industry, an understanding of the key technologies for "everywhere, anytime" mobile that are being developed can allow us to have some grasp on the shape and direction of the future mobile information society.

The question that is raised is whether we are well-equipped as a society, and as individuals, to live in a world of technological ubiquity, a world in which an intelligent microwave warms up your dinner before you get home, or your mobile phone tells you that your husband is still at the supermarket. Consider the use of tiny Radio Frequency ID tags imbedded into clothing to help retail businesses track inventory. Will these remain active once the item has been purchased and what kind of information will be collected? The new generation of always-on, anytime, anyplace technologies may allow for levels of convenience, but also of surveillance, unknown and unimagined by earlier generations. At the dawn of this new age, it is important to consider what effect these technologies are having on the way we grow, interact, socialize and learn.