Hiroshi Iwama1 
| (1) | Department of Anesthesiology, Fukushima Medical College, 1 Hikarigaoka, 960-12 Fukushima, Japan |
Received: 26 June 1995 Accepted: 1 March 1996
"Sympathectomy is a technique about which we have limited knowledge, applied to disorders about which we have little understanding." Associate Professor Robert Boas, Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australasian College of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Anaesthetists, The Journal of Pain, Vol 1, No 4 (Winter), 2000: pp 258-260
Monday, March 24, 2008
pituitary secretions of ACTH and TSH after sympathectomy
The present results suggest that cervical sympathectomy in the rat increases ACTH secretion and decreases TSH secretion in the pituitary. These effects seem to be due to a mildly increased secretion of melatonin in the pineal body that probably in turn increases corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) secretion and decreases thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) secretion in the hypothalamus. Extrapolation of these findings to humans suggests that longterm and repeated stellate ganglion block would affect the pituitary secretions of ACTH and TSH.