News Release

Vitamin B derivative helps diabetics with mild kidney disease

Pyridorin may prevent kidney failure, but not in patients with advanced kidney disease

Peer-Reviewed Publication

American Society of Nephrology

  • Pyridorin, a vitamin B6 derivative, may help slow or prevent the progression of mild kidney disease in some patients with diabetes.
  • The drug does not appear to help diabetics with more advanced kidney disease.
  • The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is expected to double by 2030. Kidney disease cases are sure to rise in parallel.

Washington, DC (Thursday, October 27, 2011) — A vitamin B6 derivative may help slow or prevent the progression of mild kidney disease in patients with diabetes, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The drug may benefit increasing numbers of patients as the prevalence of diabetes rises.

Approximately 40% of all patients who need dialysis or a kidney transplant can blame diabetes for their kidney problems. Because the number of patients with type 2 diabetes is expected to double by 2030, the prevalence of kidney failure is sure to increase. New therapies that can delay the progression of diabetic kidney disease may help prevent kidney failure and save lives. Researchers have wondered whether the drug Pyridorin, a derivative of vitamin B6, may be such a candidate. Pyridorin targets several cellular processes that may be relevant to the progression of diabetic kidney disease.

Edmund Lewis, MD (Rush University Medical Center) and his colleagues within the Collaborative Study Group (a large clinical trial group comprised of various kidney care centers) tested the potential of Pyridorin (generic name pyridoxamine dihydrochloride) for treating patients with diabetic kidney disease.

For one year during the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 317 patients received placebo twice a day, Pyridorin at a dose of 150 mg twice a day, or Pyridorin at a dose of 300 mg twice a day.

Overall, the drug did not provide any benefit over placebo for slowing or preventing the progression of diabetic kidney disease; however, Pyridorin did help patients with only mild forms of the disease.

"It appears the drug may be beneficial in a sub-group of patients with only mild kidney disease but does not appear to be beneficial for patients with more advanced kidney disease," said Dr. Lewis. "The results warrant further trials in patients with mild diabetic kidney disease," he added.

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Study co-authors include Tom Greene, PhD (University of Utah, Salt Lake City); Samuel Spitalewiz, MD (Brookdale Hospital Medical Center); Samuel Blumenthal, MD (Medical College of Wisconsin); Tomas Berl, MD (University of Colorado, Aurora); Lawrence Hunsicker, MD (University of Iowa, Iowa City); Marc Pohl, MD (Cleveland Clinic Foundation); Richard Rohde (The Collaborative Study Group); Itamar Raz, MD (Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, in Jerusalem, Israel); Yair Yerushalmy, MD (Rabin Medical Center & Diabetes & Endocrinology Unit, Century Tower, in Tel-Aviv, Israel); Yoram Yagil, MD (Ben-Gurion University, in Ashkelon, Israel); Tommy Herskovitz, MD (Institution of Diabetes and Metabolism, in Nahariya, Israel); David Packham, MD (Melbourne Renal Research Group and Royal Melbourne Hospital, in Melbourne, Australia); and Julia Lewis, MD (Vanderbilt University Medical Center); for The Collaborative Study Group, Chicago IL, USA

Disclosures: Edmund Lewis, MD, Julia Lewis, MD, and Tom.Greene, PhD received salaries from research grants from Nephrogenex, Inc. The Study was funded by Nephrogenex Inc.

The article, entitled "A Randomized Trial of Pyridorin in Type 2 Diabetes," will appear online at http://jasn.asnjournals.org/ on Thursday, October 27, 2011, doi:10.1681/ASN.2011030272.

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Founded in 1966, and with more than 12,000 members, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) leads the fight against kidney disease by educating health professionals, sharing new knowledge, advancing research, and advocating the highest quality care for patients.


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