Presse Med
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The autonomic nervous system plays a major role in blood pressure regulation and pathogenesis of essential hypertension. Before the advent of orally active antihypertensive treatments, surgical sympathectomy was the only therapeutic option in severely hypertensive patients. It was effective in reducing blood pressure in half of these patients. ⋯ However, the blood pressure response following this intervention has only been evaluated in a small number of highly selected patients in open-label studies and infrequent or delayed adverse events cannot be still fully excluded. Catheter-based renal denervation opens new interesting therapeutic perspectives. At this stage of development, the technique should still be evaluated before its widespread diffusion.