Nov 23, 2025
3 min read
Hydralazine, a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure and preeclampsia, may also help stop the growth of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor, new research suggests.
- Researchers have discovered how the drug hydralazine works at the molecular level in the body.
- Hydralazine is commonly used to treat high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
- With the understanding of its mechanism, it is determined that it is more likely to stop glioblastoma from growing - an aggressive brain tumor.
The blood pressure drug hydralazine has been around for more than 70 years, but scientists previously didn't know how it worked.
It is not uncommon, and researchers have noted that between 10 and 20% of drugs have an unknown mechanism of action.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania recently discovered the mechanism of hydralazine and also discovered that the drug has the potential to stop the growth of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.
These findings not only clear up some confusion about how hydralazine works, but also open the door to new treatments for preeclampsia and brain cancer.
The study is published in the journal Science Advances.
It is often used to treat preeclampsia, which is a condition of high blood pressure associated with pregnancy.If left untreated, preeclampsia can lead to organ failure
Although hydralazine has been used for decades, scientists were never quite sure how it worked.
Understanding the mechanism of action can provide insight into why certain strains occur, help patients benefit more from genetics, and reveal the use of new drugs.
To find out how hydrigazine works, researchers created a special version of the drug called Gezianych.This violence, like hydrazine, was a "tag" that allowed scientists to see which proteins in cells.
After the researchers helped the cells with curzyne, only a few machines called the enzyme called 2-Amamitaneithial dioxygenase (Ado)
ADO senses oxygen and helps regulate blood pressure by regulating proteins that relax blood vessels, so when ADO is blocked, blood vessels relax and blood pressure drops.
The researchers found that hydralazine works by blocking ADO, which helps relax the blood vessel wall and blood pressure.
Along with the discovery of ADO, scientists looked at the effect of hydralazine on glioblastoma multiforme because ADO and this cancer have previously been linked.
Most people with glioblastoma live only about 12 to 18 months after receiving their diagnosis, and this type of cancer has a 5-year lifespan.
According to the researchers, glioblastoma often depends on high Ado activity to survive and grow.When the team treated these cancer cells with hydrolazine, the cells entered a process called "senescence."
It does not kill cancer cells, but slows down their growth significantly.The researchers noted that an injection of Hydralazine kept the cells in this suspended state for several days.
Although more research is needed on hydralazine and glioblastoma, the findings raise the possibility that drugs that block ADO could one day be used as a treatment.
Walavan Sivakumar, MD, a board-certified neurosurgeon and director of neurosurgery at Providence Little Company of Mary, spoke with Medical News Today about the findings.
"It's the most brilliant part of the science," said Siib Mama, who did not take part in the study."Finally, the authors elucidated how Hydralazine works at the molecular level and thereby discovered a whole new set of vulnerabilities in invasive brain tumors."
Sivakumar talked about how scientists were able to put glioblastoma cells into "sleep mode" instead of killing them.
"This is a fundamentally different way of thinking about treating brain tumors," he noted.
While Sivakuar confirmed that the results are very important in nature and at the moment they will not affect the treatment of Glioblastoma, he said that many of the effects of hydralazine are "beautiful."
"It's the biggest antihypertensive drug we have, and decades of safety data and international availability, where many of our treatments make tumors like glioblastoma very attractive."
- Valvan Sivakumar, MD
Nicholas Klaiber, MD, a physician and graduate of Eastern Virginia Medical School, also spoke to MNT about the findings.Klaiber, who was also not involved in the research, described the study as "scientifically rigorous".
While Klaiber found the data “compelling,” he was still unsure about the future of using hydralazine in people with glioblastoma.
"The only problem with inducing senescence (dormancy) is that ongoing treatment is required to suppress tumor growth," he told us.
"Furthermore, glioblastoma cells have high levels and are likely to increase Ado production to be resistant to hydralazine," he warned.
