Saturday 19 December 2015

Drug Tolvaptan gives hope for Brits living with kidney disease

The drug Tolvaptan has been given the green light in the UK as the first-ever treatment for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. A few months earlier it also received approval in Europe. It's the first ever treatment for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), an incurable genetic condition that can cause heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure. The disease hits 60,000 people in the UK alone, leading to many cysts forming on their kidneys, leading to massive size increases for these vital organs.

The patient takes a tablet twice a day, which slows the rate of cyst development. After getting the go-ahead, it's expected to be available to patients from early 2016. The disease is responsible for one in ten people who end up on dialysis and one in eight who end up having a transplant. Sadly ADPKD is a genetic condition,one out of two children from a parent with ADPKD will have the disease.

You can read more about its approval on News Medical Net and in the UK's Daily Mail