Determining Oral Phosphate Tolerance Across the Spectrum of Glomerular Filtration Rate
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2018-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Over 20 million people in North America (including 2 million Canadians) have chronic kidney
disease. These individuals die from diseases of the heart and blood vessels more often than
they need dialysis. This is due to hardening of the arteries caused by calcium deposits
inside the blood vessel walls. These deposits damage the vessels, causing them to lose
flexibility. This makes them unable to respond to the changing demands of the body, and
eventually leads to blockages such as stroke and ultimately death.
High levels of phosphate in the blood have been consistently linked to the development of
calcium deposits inside blood vessel walls. The kidney is the only organ in the body that can
eliminate phosphate that is not required by the body. As kidney function becomes worse, body
levels of phosphate increase. However, investigators do not know the time point in the course
of kidney disease that problems begin in the way phosphate is eliminated into the urine by
the kidneys. Investigators will test the response of the kidneys to a phosphate challenge
taken by mouth in subjects who are having accurate measures of kidney function performed by a
method called 'inulin clearance'.
The investigators believe that the results of this study will provide important information
identifying when investigators should be concerned about body levels of phosphate increasing.
This information may lead to changes in the way investigators treat patients by reducing the
levels of phosphate in the diet at a much earlier time point then is presently recommended.