SUMMARY:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Medicine-Cardiology have developed a method that applies renal denervation to specific renal arteries to treat resistant hypertension.
BACKGROUND:
Sympathetic nervous system activation occurs when chemicals, such as adrenaline, bind to multiple receptors that are responsible for vital functions such as blood pressure and respiratory rate. In addition, the sympathetic nervous system activation of the kidneys is responsible for multiple functions that cause renal vascular resistance. Long-term activation can lead to high arterial pressure, also known as resistant hypertension, that may cause severe health problems or death. A promising treatment for resistant hypertension is the application of renal denervation where radiofrequency ablation is utilized to burn the nerves in the renal arteries to reduce nerve activity and decrease blood pressure. However, artery treatment can be at random and clinical trials to look at what are the best arteries to treat have not been completed. Therefore, there is a need for better implementation of renal denervation for improved patient outcome.
INNOVATION:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Medicine-Cardiology have developed a method to observe the application of renal denervation to reduce sympathetic nervous system activation in the kidneys. The method compared the application of renal denervation of the renal arteries (RA) and aortico-renal ganglion (ARG) while using a specific anesthetic regimen. From the studies, researchers demonstrate that ARG stimulation leads to a 10-fold greater blockade of hemodynamic responses to renal artery stimulation compared to conventional renal denervation. The authors also demonstrated that ARG ablation was more cardioprotective than conventional RA ablation. These studies illustrate the superiority of ARG ablation compared to RA ablation under a proper anesthetic regimen. The method could lead to more reliable renal denervation method than the currently applied approaches and improve patient outcomes for a variety of cardiovascular conditions.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
ADVANTAGES:
DEVELOPMENT TO DATE:
First successful description of complete invention. PUBLICATION:
Aorticorenal ganglion as a novel target for renal neuromodulation