Dialysis doesn't stop Ironman Triathelete

Some people might imagine that if you are on dialysis you are some sort of a weak and fragile person. They obviously forgot to tell Shad Ireland this!

He is taking part in the Amgen Tour of California, despite being on dialysis. His training included cycling in the snowy weather around Lake Tahoe, while everyone else was looking for excuses not to. Shad has launched a 24-month project called Taking on the Tour, an effort to educate and inspire support for kidney dialysis patients world wide.

His schedule included riding stages two, four and six of the Amgen Tour of California as well as stages in July's Tour de France and August's Tour of Utah — riding the routes non-competitively.

Ireland, from Buford, Ga., is also the only dialysis patient to complete the grueling Ironman triathlon multiple times; also riding across the country in 2009 from California to Washington, D.C., for dialysis awareness.

He hasn't had it easy however. Told he would need dialysis when only 10 years old, his doctors then told him when he was 16 that he wouldn't make it past 25. He's now 39. Stubborn, eh?

We read this inspiring report in several places, such as here.

Also look out for the Shad Ireland Foundation too.

Keryx says more European drug trials not necessary

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals says that it does not believe that it will need to carry out more tests so that its kidney drug Zerenex (ferric citrate) will be approved in Europe. This was reported on several news sites.

The drug is used to treat high phosphate levels (hyperphosphatemia) in patients with chronic kidney disease as well as those on dialysis. The drug is already licensed in many other markets, apart from some Asian areas.

Volunteers for trials were recruited around October 2010. A report in December 2010 said that it successfully reduced phosphate levels.