Increased CSF [Na+] in hypertension (HTN) stage 2 patients. sBP (A) and dBP (B) of study subjects. CSF [Na+] (C) and plasma [Na+] in study subjects (D). Normal BP, n = 20; elevated BP, n = 5; HTN-stage 1, n = 11; HTN-stage 2, n = 7; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001 versus normal BP group; ##P < 0.01, ####P < 0.0001 versus HTN-stage 1 group; one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc tests.