Our objectives were to investigate the acute responses of the heart rate variability (HRV) before, during and after the execution of different Vertical Jump (VJ) protocols and correlate the levels of sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation after the VJ execution with the performance variables in VJ. Eight male athletes (29±4.9 years; 186±8.6 cm; 24.8±2.1 kg.m-2; 12±1.2% body fat) of a team p...

Sympathetic and parasympathetic function and somatic nerve conduction were assessed in ten patients with diphtheritic neuropathy and 28 controls. None of the patients had postural hypotension. The Valsalva ratio was abnormal in two patients who also had myocarditis, but it was normal in five cases. Cardiac vagal dysfunction was found in five patients. One case showed cardiac parasympathetic den...

Using five non-invasive tests, abnormalities of cardiovascular reflex function were found in 20 of 50 patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux. Abnormalities of pupil cycle time, an index of non-vagal parasympathetic function, were found in only a few patients, implying that the cardiovascular abnormalities observed were not part of a generalised parasympathetic defect. The findings are consiste...

The effects of a soft tissue mobilization procedure, the Rolfing pelvic lift, on parasympathetic tone was studied in healthy adult men. Parasympathetic tone was assessed 1) by quantifying the amplitude of the respiratory sinus arrhythmia from the heart rate pattern and 2) by measuring heart rate. Heart rate patterns were assessed during the pelvic lift and during the durational touch and baseli...

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a group of psycho behavioural symptoms experienced by many susceptible young women prior to menstruation. It is suggested that there is altered autonomic activity in the late leuteal phase of their endometrial cycle. The present study is aimed to see the autonomic reactivity in women suffering from PMS and to compare it with control ones. The results revealed that...

To determine the prevalence and extent of autonomic neuropathy amongst Africans with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), we investigated 50 such patients at our clinic. Mean age (+/- 1 s.d.) was 26 +/- 6 years, male:female ratio was equal (25M:25F) and duration of diabetes was 4.0 +/- 3.0 years. A battery of six validated tests of autonomic function was performed, testing both sympathet...

Physical exercise is associated with parasympathetic withdrawal and increased sympathetic activity resulting in heart rate increase. The rate of post-exercise cardiodeceleration is used as an index of cardiac vagal reactivation. Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and complexity can provide useful information about autonomic control of the cardiovascular system. The aim of the present stud...

Recently, sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) block has been generating interest as another extracranial nerve block that may be used as part of treatment for migraine. The SPG is a group of neurons within the pterygopalatine fossa that lies behind the nasopharynx posterior to the middle turbinate and inferior to the sphenoid sinus.1 The SPG contains sensory and sympathetic fibers but is largely a pa...

The bronchial hyperreactivity characteristic of asthma may be related to enhanced parasympathetic nervous activity. We postulated that an abnormality in the autonomic control of airway caliber might be reflected by a parallel change in the reflex control of heart rate. We examined the heart-rate variations induced by deep breathing (respiratory sinus arrhythmia), the Valsalva maneuver, and stan...