A pill used for diabetes is set to revolutionise the treatment of deadly kidney disease – potentially sparing tens of thousands from dialysis and organ transplants, and saving hundreds of lives every year.
NHS chiefs have granted roughly 91,000 sufferers access to the drug, the first new development in treatment of the condition in 20 years.
The approval follows a study which found a daily dose of dapagliflozin slashed the risk of needing dialysis, a transplant and even death by up to 39 per cent.
At least 30,000 people need kidney dialysis – hooked up to a machine that clears waste products and excess fluid from the blood.
The gruelling procedure can involve trips to the hospital three times a week.
And about 1,500 kidney transplants a year are carried out, with patients waiting an average of two to three years for a suitable donor.
“This drug represents an exciting new opportunity for patients,” said Dr Graham Lipkin, a specialist and trustee of the charity Kidney Care UK. “It can slow the progression of the disease and we anticipate it will reduce the number of patients needing dialysis, or a transplant.”
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs deep inside the abdomen that filter out toxins from the blood and flush them out through urine.
Between them, they process a whopping 200 litres of fluid a day.
But they can become damaged beyond repair by conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, which restricts blood flow to the organs by narrowing the arteries that supply them.
This permanently reduces their ability to flush harmful toxins, leading to chronic kidney disease.
Patients are advised to adopt lifestyle tweaks – like maintaining a healthy weight, cutting back on salt and exercising regularly.
But there is no cure, and drugs can only control the symptoms, such as high blood pressure.
Over time, kidney disease damages the heart, with cardiac failure being a major cause of death in those dying with the illness.
“The outcome of kidney failure is not much better than cancer,” says Dr Charlie Tomson from the charity Kidney Research UK.
“So anything that reduces the risk of kidney failure, or patients dying from cardiovascular disease or other causes is welcome. This drug does both of those things.”
