Sunday 2 August 2015

New Drug May Treat High Potassium Level (新的药物可治疗高钾水平)

New Drug May Treat High Potassium Level (新的药物可治疗高钾水平)
Introduction
I decided to write a topic on Potassium as it is something closed to me.  It is important to me during my dialysis days as well as post-transplant.  In fact, it plays an important role for a healthy individual.
Why Potassium is important?
Potassium is necessary for the heart, kidneys and other organs to work so enabling them to function properly so to transit nerve signals, muscle contractions, fluid balance, and various chemical reactions.
Health problems due to insufficient potassium include leg cramps, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeats, and in serious cases, paralysis.
Doctor has advised a friend to take more bananas to increase his potassium level so to prevent cramps.
What is hyperkalaemia?
People with advanced diabetes will lead to damage to the kidneys.  As a result, it can cause potassium levels to increase to dangerous levels, which is termed hyperkalaemia (高钾血症).
"High potassium is a problem seen in people with advanced kidney disease and advanced diabetes with kidney disease and with people with heart failure," said lead researcher Dr. George Bakris, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.
Hyperkalaemia can lead to life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death.
Traditional Treatments
Bakris said a change in diet is the traditional approach.  At that times, I have to avoid fruits and vegetables to lower my potassium levels, which include Bananas, tomato, avocados, spinach those that are high in this mineral.
In addition, I have to take Resinsodio and mix with water if the restricted diet did not achieve the desirable results.  It has to be taken continually if the potassium level is deemed high.
Information on the new drug
Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ:RLYP), a biopharmaceutical company, announced a new drug, Patiromer, will significantly reduce potassium levels when taken for a month and the effect will last for a year, researchers found.
Patiromer is a potassium binder, taken orally, twice a day, with a small amount of water, for the treatment of hyperkalemia.
As explained by Dr. Bakris, Patiromer will reliably bind potassium throughout the entire gastrointestinal tract, which helps remove potassium from the body.  Such process compares favorably as to the existing drug where only bind potassium in the lower intestine.
Clinical Trial
A total of 306 patients with CKD stages 3 to 5 and type 2 diabetes had been selected for this one-year trial.  All selected patients had mild-to-moderate hyperkalemia.
Clinical results showed that taking Patiromer has significantly reduced blood potassium levels across all dose groups in patients with either mild or moderate hyperkalemia at week 4 and the effect would maintain throughout the 52 weeks.
Patiromer was well tolerated by all patients over the 52 weeks of treatment.  Some common adverse events:
·      9.2% experienced worsening of CKD
·      8.6% experienced hypomagnesemia
·      7.9% experienced of hypertension (7.9 percent)
·      6.3% experienced constipation (6.3 percent) and
·      5.6% experienced diarrhea
No adverse events of worsening CKD were considered by investigators to be related to Patiromer.
Additional information
Please visit followings for additional information:
Diabetes and kidney disease – American Diabetes Association
Patiromer trial presented by Dr. Bakris and published by JAMA – The Journal of the American Medical Association 
Latest developments
Relypsa announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of October 21, 2015 for completion of the review of the New Drug Application (NDA) for the investigational agent Patiromer.
If Patiromer is approved, it will be the first new therapeutic made available for the treatment of hyperkalemia in over 50 years.
I suggest the following Posts for your Reading:
·     Hypoglycaemia
Disclaimer: I am not a Medical Doctor. All my blog postings are based on my personal experience that I've went thru and what I've read up from the internet. If you've any symptoms of diabetes OR want to better manage your health, I strongly urge you to have regular medical-ups to avoid future complications. In addition, control your diet portions and have regular exercise. 

(我不是一位医生。所有我的博克投稿是我的个人经验,并且我从互联网读了。如果您有糖尿病的任何症状或要更好处理您的健康,我强烈敦促您有规则健康检以避免未来复杂化另外,控制您的饮食部分并且有定期运动.)