Chronic antagonism of the mineralocorticoid receptor ameliorates hypertension and end organ damage in a rodent model of salt-sensitive hypertension.

We investigated the effects of chronic mineralocorticoid receptor blockade with eplerenone on the development and progression of hypertension and end organ damage in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Eplerenone significantly attenuated the progressive rise in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (204 +/- 3 vs. 179 +/- 3 mmHg, p < 0.05), reduced proteinuria (605.5 +/- 29.6 vs. 479.7 +/- 26.1 mg/24h, p < 0.05), improved injury scores of glomeruli, tubules, renal interstitium, and vasculature in Dahl salt-sensitive rats fed a high-salt diet. These results demonstrate that mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism provides target organ protection and attenuates the development of elevated blood pressure (BP) in a model of salt-sensitive hypertension.