Lewis Mighty was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2008, a childhood cancer which attacks the sympathetic nervous system.

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This, in turn, reduces hyper-activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is an established contributor to chronic hypertension.

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For instance, it could be that looking at females heightens sympathetic nervous system pathways which are associated with fight or flight impulses.

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Sleep deprivation also led to an increase in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls many of the body's "involuntary" functions.

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Beta blockers work by reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous system, which is one of the two major branches of the body's stress (or fight-and-flight) system.

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For a high-profile case the system seems to have worked, even though the defendant was hardly sympathetic.

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The whole purpose of the 1986 vaccine act was to prevent the threat of sympathetic jurors from driving vaccine manufacturers out of the business, by setting up an alternate court system with scheduled damage payments.

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But sympathetic coverage from local newspapers has helped persuade officials not to leave the impoverished patients to the mercy of the health system.

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