Unilateral chemical ablation of the adrenal gland lowers blood pressure and alleviates target organ damage in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Unilateral debulking of the adrenal gland using ethanol ablation is a promising therapeutic strategy for treating hypertension.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were subjected to unilateral adrenal ablation with injection of ethanol or a sham procedure. Blood pressure was monitored for 24 weeks.

Adrenal ablation significantly lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure of SHR but not WKY from 4 to 24 weeks after the procedure.