Kremezin (AST-120) Delays the Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy in Japanese Type 2 Diabetic Patients
- Hiroyuki Shimizu, MD, PHD1,
- Shuichi Okada, MD, PHD1,
- Oh-I Shinsuke1 and
- Masatomo Mori, MD, PHD1
- 1Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan
- Address correspondence to Dr. Hiroyuki Shimizu, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371, Japan. E-mail: hshimizu{at}showa.gunma-u.ac.jp
Strict control of blood glucose and blood pressure levels sometimes fail to delay the development of diabetic nephropathy, and effective therapy for diabetic nephropathy is not yet available. AST-120, a spherical adsorptive carbon preparation, absorbs uremic toxins, such as indoxyl sulfate, in the gut. Since indoxyl sulfate can generate profibrotic cytokines, the accumulation of uremic toxins is toxic to the kidney. The removal of indoxyl sulfate by the adsorptive carbon should be renoprotective (1). AST-120 decreases circulating indoxyl sulfate in patients with chronic …
