Sympathetic nervous system and experimental diabetes: role of adrenal medullary hormones.

The sympathetic nervous system is of major importance in the regulation of various physiological functions. The present review discusses the mechanisms which control glucose homeostasis and the role of the sympathetic nervous system in experimental diabetes with special emphasis on the role of adrenal medullary hormones, over-activity of the sympathetic nervous system and its relationship to hypertension in the diabetic state and the effect of stress. The chapter also reviews the ability of various drugs and pharmacological agents to produce hyperglycemia in experimental animals and how this information can be used in screening new chemical entities and in differentiating the mode of action of these agents.