Physiologic and pathogenic role of the adrenal medulla in severe essential arterial hypertension. Populational and experimental investigations. Therapeutic implications.

The syndrome of constitutional chronic hyperadrenalism was detected biochemically by blood cathecholamine assays as well as psychically and morphologically in 12.5% of the young apparently healthy subjects from Bucharest, investigated. Experimentally, the enzymatic cellular oxidative process in the adrenal medulla was blocked by chemical sclerosis of the adrenal medulla with a 40% solution of sodium salicylate (2.5 M), without influencing cortical secretion ensured bythe hexose monophosphat shunt. Chemical medullosclerosis associated with splanchnicosympathectomy and with or without suprarenalectomy on the opposite side performed in 60 patients with severe essential arterial hypertension resistant to drug therapy gave good results depending on the anatomical and clinical evolutive stage of disease.