Development of Hypertension and Cardiovascular-Renal Lesions During Adrenal Regeneration in the Rat. ∗

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions

This report presents a simple technic for the production of a new type of experimental hormonal hypertension with cardiovascular-renal lesions in rats sensitized by unilateral nephrectomy and salt administration. It demonstrates that such hypertension and cardiovascular-renal lesions can be produced without polydipsia and excessive sodium consumption and without alteration in the serum levels of sodium, potassium or chloride. The results suggest that regenerating adrenal cortical tissue secretes increased quantities of cortical hormones and lend strong support to the hypothesis that increased adrenal cortical function is of fundamental importance in the pathogenesis of hypertension and cardiovascular-renal disease.