It can often be difficult to stop something once it’s been started; take statins for example. It seems that despite consistent evidence from two large, randomized controlled trails demonstrating the lack efficacy of statins for preventing cardiovascular mortality…
For many common drugs, we have a good idea of whether or not they are dialyzed off. We know that it’s important to re-dose vancomycin after a dialysis session since some of it is removed; conversely, drugs such…
This has been known for awhile, but it is worth repeating–sevelamer (Renagel), in addition to its ability to act as a phosphate binder, also results in LDL cholesterol-lowering effects. Two of the early articles (a 1998 Clinical Nephrology…
Maintaining adequate glycemic control in patients with diabetic kidney disease can be a challenge. First, it is hypothesized that worsened glycemic control will lead to a greater tendency towards diabetic nephropathy. Second, individuals with more advanced CKD are…
The two calcineurin inhibitors routinely used for kidney transplant immunosuppression are cyclosporine (CSA) and tacrolimus (TAC). Their mechanism of action is somewhat similar (they both inhibit calcineurin, which under normal circumstances induces transcription of IL-2 in lymphocytes) but…
Another potentially useful drug to prevent cyst growth in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease comes from the interesting observation that kidney transplant patients with native ADPKD kidneys who were given an immunosuppressant regimen containing the drug rapamycin (sirolimus)…
There are only limited treatment options for hepatorenal syndrome, and many would argue that treatment of type I hepatorenal syndrome (the bad kind) in the absence of a plan for liver transplantation is a futile effort. Over the…
One of the major side effects of cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) in both men and women is gonadal failure and resultant infertility. While there is markedly less risk with the doses typically used for the treatment of glomerular disease than,…
The potassium-sparing diuretics consist of the following 4 medications–only some of which (spironolactone & eplerenone in the list below) are structurally similar. Spironolactone is an antagonist of the aldosterone receptor, which like other steroid receptors is an…
The following is a list of major pharmaceutical companies, ranked by total revenue. The numbers are staggeringly high. #1 overall is Johnson & Johnson ($ 63,747,000,000 in 2008 total revenue), followed by Pfizer and Bayer. A few of…
