Drug Aids Renal Patients Long Term

Lanthanum carbonate (Fosrenal) has been found to be safe and tolerable in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) while successfully reducing and maintaining mean serum phosphate levels in 70% of patients for up to three years, according to a study in the November 2005 issue of Nephron Clinical Practice.

These results are promising news for the nearly one million people worldwide at risk for the serious consequences of hyperphosphatemia, a condition caused by an excess amount of phosphate in the blood. The condition is an almost inevitable consequence of ESRD and remains poorly controlled in many patients. A low phosphate diet is essential for managing dialysis patients but many have highly elevated levels despite maintaining a strict diet.

If not well-managed, hyperphosphatemia can cause renal osteodystrophy or contribute to cardiovascular disease, which accounts for almost half of all deaths among dialysis patients. Fosrenal works by binding to dietary phosphate in the gastrointestinal tract. Once bound, the Fosrenal complex cannot pass through the intestinal lining into the bloodstream and is eliminated from the body, decreasing phosphate absorption significantly. Fosrenal was developed by Shire Global Clinical Medicine (Basingstoke, UK).

"The results add to the already extensive data package available for Fosrenal and further support this effective new treatment as a significant step forward in phosphate management,” said lead investigator Dr. Alastair Hutchison, of the Manchester Institute of Nephrology & Transplantation (UK).




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