
Human kidney cross section on scientific background
By loading a chelation drug into a nano-sized homing device, researchers at Clemson University have reversed in an animal model the deadliest effects of chronic kidney disease, which kills more people in the United States each year than breast or prostate cancer.
When kidneys stop working properly, calcium builds up in artery tissue, leading to heart disease. Although nearly half a million Americans receive kidney dialysis, heart disease is the leading cause of death for people with chronic kidney disease.
“The findings are very exciting scientifically, but also for the thousands of patients who could potentially benefit from this technology one day,” said Naren Vyavahare, the Hunter Endowed Chair and professor of bioengineering at Clemson and the principal investigator of the research.
Chelation, a method of removing metals such as iron and lead from the body, has been used experimentally for some people with heart disease. The therapy is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but the National Institutes of Health has sponsored two large-scale, multi-center studies using ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid, or EDTA, as chelation therapy for people with heart disease.
In clinical studies, EDTA is included in an infusion that circulates through the body; it’s systemic and non-specific. This method of chelation has shown good results in improving heart function, especially in diabetic patients, Vyavahare said. But EDTA infusion therapy is arduous (it requires 40 infusions over a period of a year), and it can cause side effects, including a depletion of calcium from the blood and from bone.
In 2014, Vyavahare’s team proved a targeted approach is effective. In animals without kidney disease, they loaded nanoparticles with EDTA and special antibodies that recognize and latch onto damaged elastin to deliver the therapy directly to arterial sites damaged by calcification.
Now, in a paper published Feb. 22, 2019, in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, Vyavahare’s team describes how they developed an animal model that mimics a human’s chronic kidney disease. Animals were treated either with EDTA infusions, like in the NIH human trials, or with EDTA enclosed in a nanoparticle coupled with an antibody that seeks out damaged elastin. In animals that received the targeted therapy, calcium buildup was destroyed, without causing side effects, better than with EDTA infusions alone. Moreover, the calcification did not come back up to four weeks after the last injection, even though other signs of chronic kidney disease were present.
“Dr. Vyavahare’s work is extremely important for those of us who believe that calcium is not just a passive indicator of coronary disease, but also an active participant,” said Gervasio Lamas, chairman of medicine and chief of cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Lamas, principal investigator of the NIH-funded Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy 2, was not involved in the Clemson study.
“The potential with a targeted drug is enormous, and the methodology for targeting that Dr. Vyavahare has developed is unique,” Lamas said.
Vyavahare and his co-authors wrote that in a previous study they showed that polyphenols, when delivered with nanoparticles, “regenerate degraded aortic elastin. Thus, there is an exciting opportunity of dual nanoparticle therapy to first remove calcium deposits using EDTA and then restore medial elastin layers with (polyphenols).”
Vyavahare has been studying elastin degradation and damages caused by calcification for nearly 20 years. He’s director of the NIH-funded South Carolina Center of Biomaterials for Tissue Regeneration.
The nanoparticle delivery technology has been licensed by Elastrin Therapeutics, a startup company Vyavahare helped found. He serves as chief science officer of the company.
“With recent funding we received from NIH to carry out more studies on understanding how reversal of calcification works, and Elastrin Therapeutics Inc. licensing this technology from Clemson University, we believe we would be able to translate this approach for use in clinical trials within the next few years,” Vyavahare said.
Learn more: Cause of vascular disease in kidney failure reversed in animal model
The Latest on: Chronic kidney disease
via Google News
The Latest on: Chronic kidney disease
- Imaging agent may help gauge kidney healthon January 22, 2021 at 8:41 am
A patient in end-stage kidney disease receives dialysis while he waits for a kidney transplant. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an imaging agent ...
- Physical exercise for people with chronic kidney diseases to combat physical inactivity due to COVID-19on January 22, 2021 at 6:44 am
The Association to Fight Against Kidney Diseases of Castellón province (Spain), ALCER Castalia, and the CEU Cardenal Herrera University (CEU UCH) have collaborated to create the Basic Manual of ...
- Global Chronic Kidney Disease Clinical Trial Pipeline Report 2021 - Focus on US, Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy & Japan - ResearchAndMarkets.comon January 21, 2021 at 10:19 pm
ResearchAndMarkets.com The “Global Chronic Kidney Disease Clinical Trial Pipeline Highlights - 2021” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. Chronic Kidney Disease Pipeline ...
- Lowering your risk of kidney stoneson January 21, 2021 at 11:08 am
Some of the variables that increase kidney stone risk are out of our control – other risk factors can be countered or modified by lifestyle changes.
- Chronic conditions included in the D.C. coronavirus vaccination planon January 21, 2021 at 9:48 am
The D.C. government plans to give people with the following medical conditions priority to receive the coronavirus vaccine, ahead of some essential workers and the rest of the general population.
- Chronic Kidney Disease Drugs Market Outlook By Industry Size, Share, Revenue, Regions And Top Key Players Analysis From 2019-2027on January 21, 2021 at 5:59 am
Research Nester released a report titled "Chronic Kidney Disease Drugs Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2027" which delivers detailed overview of the global chronic kidney disease ...
- First-degree relative with kidney disease increaseson January 17, 2021 at 6:13 am
The family history of kidney disease was strongly associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease in a large population-based family study ...
- New Research Suggests Chronic Kidney Disease Market 2021, Rising Demand for New Techniques | Global Size, Share, Analysis and Forecast 2023on January 17, 2021 at 2:16 am
Market Research Future (MRFR) expects the Global Chronic Kidney Disease Market to exhibit a robust 5.2% CAGR over the forecast period from 2017 to 2023. The global chronic kidney disease market is ...
- Race Modifier Means Black Patients Miss Out on Kidney Transplantson January 15, 2021 at 7:19 am
Data from Black patients documents that use of the race coefficient for calculating eGFR systematically excludes more than a third from kidney transplant listing.
- Stopping Common Heart Meds Could Be Risky for Kidney Patientson January 14, 2021 at 6:02 am
Patients with chronic kidney disease who stop using a class of common blood pressure medications may lower their risk for dialysis, but they also raise their odds of cardiovascular disease, a new ...
via Bing News