[Idiopathic orthostatic hypotension and the Shy-Drager syndrome: hemodynamic and pharmacological studies in seven patients (author's transl)].

Idiopathic orthostatic hypotension (IOH) is a slowly progressive disease of the autonomic nervous system. The association of central lesions with those of IOH is characteristic of the Shy-Drager syndrome, which follows a rapidly unfavorable course, and can be distinguished from IOH, according to some authors, by anatomical and pharmacological features. Hemodynamic and pharmacological studies were conducted in 4 cases of IOH and 3 cases of the Shy-Drager syndrome in order to determine the localization and extent of the orthostatic regulatory disorder. No differences were found between the two groups and a common physiopathological mechanism for the two affections is suggested.