Observations on the role of the rat kidney in hypertension caused by desoxycorticosterone acetate.

Desoxycorticosterone acetate in pellet form was administered for 51 days to albino rats of the Sherman strain which also received 1 per cent saline as drinking water. Treatment was stopped in representative groups at 25, 37, and 51 days so that the regression of blood pressure and renal changes could be observed. It was noted that both the elevation in blood pressure during treatment and its reversal when treatment was stopped were closely correlated with corresponding changes in renal mass. In the time for which the process was studied it did not become irreversible. Removal of both kidneys from DCA-treated animals aggravated the hypertension, suggesting that the kidneys are actively concerned with the excretion and possible inactivation of the steroid.