The autonomic nervous system (ANS) coordinates involuntary homeostatic functions including cardiovascular regulation, gastrointestinal motility, thermoregulation, and glandular activity.[1] It comprises sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric components and is highly relevant to neurodegenerative disease because autonomic failure can precede or accompany central neurodegeneration.
Autonomic dysfunction is especially important in synucleinopathies, peripheral neuropathies, and disorders with orthostatic hypotension. ANS involvement is therefore a useful bridge between peripheral symptoms and central disease staging.
Autonomic nervous system dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease. Journal of Neurology (2019). ↩︎