Aldosterone linked to increased risk of chronic kidneydisease progression and end-stage kidney disease
Image of a biopsy of a diseased kidney, showing scarring and injuries to the tube-like structures. Credit: Dr Ashish Verma
Aldosterone is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, which sit above the kidneys. Its main role is to regulate salt and water in the body, and so it plays a central role in controlling blood pressure. Too much of it can lead toThe lead author of the study, Dr.
Dr. Verma and his colleagues investigated the associations between aldosterone concentrations in the blood and kidney disease progression among 3,680 participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study, which ran in seven clinics in the US between 2003 and 2008. The participants were aged between 21 and 74 years old.
After adjusting for factors that could affect the results, such as medications, other medical conditions, age, race, height and weight, they found that each doubling of aldosterone concentrations in the blood was linked to an 11% increased risk of CKD progression. Patients with concentrations in the top 25% of the group had a 45% increased risk compared to the 25% of patients with the lowest aldosterone concentrations. The risk was similar regardless of whether or not patients also had diabetes.
The Food and Drug Administration in the US has approved the use of finerenone for patients with CKD and diabetes. Now a randomized controlled clinical trial is investigating the efficacy and safety of finerenone in non-diabetic CKD patients."This trial will play an important role in answering the question, whether MR antagonist therapy will be useful in delaying CKD progression in patients with CKD and without diabetes," said Dr. Verma.