Dysautonomia, a Heuristic Approach to a Revised Model for Etiology of Disease

Dysautonomia refers to a disease where the autonomic nervous system is dysfunctional. This may be a central control mechanism, as in genetically determined familial dysautonomia (Riley-Day Syndrome), or peripherally in the distribution of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. There are multip...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Derrick Lonsdale
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2009-01-01
Series:Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nem064
Description
Summary:Dysautonomia refers to a disease where the autonomic nervous system is dysfunctional. This may be a central control mechanism, as in genetically determined familial dysautonomia (Riley-Day Syndrome), or peripherally in the distribution of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. There are multiple reports of a number of different diseases associated with dysautonomia. The etiology of this association has never been explained. There are also multiple publications on dysautonomia associated with specific non-caloric nutritional deficiencies. Beriberi is the prototype of autonomic dysfunction. It is the best known nutritional deficiency disease caused by an imbalance between ingested calories and the vitamins required for their oxidation, particularly thiamin. Long thought to be abolished in modern medical thinking, there are occasional isolated reports of the full-blown disease in developed Western cultures.
ISSN:1741-427X
1741-4288