A new study has brought exciting news for people living with chronic kidney disease.
Researchers have tested a new experimental drug and found that it may greatly reduce signs of kidney damage.
The study was led by Dr. Katherine Tuttle at the University of Washington and published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Chronic kidney disease is a serious condition that affects millions of people around the world. One major sign that the kidneys are not working properly is when albumin, a type of protein, is found in the urine. Normally, healthy kidneys prevent albumin from leaking into the urine.
The new drug, called BI 690517, works by targeting a hormone called aldosterone. This hormone helps the body control salt, water, and blood pressure. However, when aldosterone levels are too high, it can make kidney disease worse.
Doctors usually treat kidney disease with medications known as ACE inhibitors and ARBs. These help protect the kidneys, but they can also cause aldosterone levels to rise over time. That can undo some of the benefits of the treatment.
There are also drugs called aldosterone blockers that reduce kidney inflammation and slow the disease. But these drugs often raise potassium levels in the blood, which can be dangerous. One of the challenges for researchers was finding a treatment that protects the kidneys without causing too many side effects.
This new study included 714 people with chronic kidney disease. It started in February 2022 and ended in July 2023. To join the study, participants had to be already taking the highest dose of ACE or ARB medicine they could tolerate.
They also took another medication called empagliflozin, which is part of a newer group of drugs called SGLT2 inhibitors. These drugs were first made for diabetes but are now known to help protect kidney function.
The main goal of the study was to see if BI 690517 could lower albumin levels in urine, which would suggest less kidney damage. The results were promising. Half of the people who took only BI 690517 showed a big drop in albuminuria.
The best results came from those taking the 10 mg dose. Even better, when BI 690517 was combined with empagliflozin, 70% of participants had a meaningful drop in albumin levels.
There were some cases of high potassium in the blood, called hyperkalemia, among people taking BI 690517. But most of these cases were not serious and didn’t need extra treatment. The good news is that empagliflozin seemed to help reduce this side effect.
These early results are leading to a much larger Phase III study, which will include 11,000 patients from all over the world. That study will be led by Oxford Population Health in England.
Dr. Tuttle is hopeful that if this new drug becomes widely available, it could transform how we treat kidney disease and maybe even reduce the need for dialysis in the future.
This discovery is a big step forward in kidney care. If future research confirms these results, BI 690517 could help many people live longer, healthier lives without the burden of constant treatment.
If you’re interested in kidney health, you might also want to read about how to protect your kidneys from diabetes, or how drinking coffee may lower the risk of kidney injury. Other studies suggest that eating certain foods may help prevent kidney stones from coming back, and that eating nuts could reduce the risk of kidney disease and early death.
The research findings were published in The Lancet.
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