ngel Argil s

BACKGROUND: Persistent hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is observed in approximately 50% of kidney transplant recipients one year after transplantation. It may result in hypercalcemia, hypophosphatemia, bone demineralization, vascular calcification, lithiasis, and participate in chronic allograft nephropathy. We evaluated the use of the calcimimetic cinacalcet chloride to correct chronic hypercalcemia in posttransplant HPT, in a prospective single-center study. METHODS: Nine patients with persistent hypercalcemia (>2.6 mmol/L) and stable graft function were treated with cinacalcet (30 mg/day, thereafter adapted to obtain normal serum Ca levels) for six months. Their immunosuppressive schedule included mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), steroids, and cyclosporine A (4), tacrolimus (4), or sirolimus (2). RESULTS: Serum Ca levels significantly decreased from 2.75+/-0.15 to 2.59+/-0.10, 2.42+/-0.29 and 2.44+/-0.25 mmol/L by one, two, and six months, respectively (P<0.02, Wilcoxon test for paired data, for all the data points). Parathyroid hormone (PTH) serum levels decreased from 171+/-102 to 134+/-63 pg/ml by two months (P<0.05) and stabilized thereafter (148+/-99 pg/ml at six months; NS). No changes in glomerular filtration rate (49.8+/-18.6 and 51.3+/-19 ml/min at initiation and six months, respectively) and no variation in serum concentration of the immunosuppressive drugs were observed. Three patients withdrew the treatment because gastrointestinal intolerance. CONCLUSION: Cinacalcet allows the correction of hypercalcemia with no interference in immunosuppressive treatment or renal function. However, whether the increased intolerance observed was due to the association of cinacalcet chloride with other drugs required in renal transplantation (e.g., MMF) needs to be assessed.

It is well known that hyperparathyroidism begins early in renal failure and progresses, probably not linearly, throughout the natural course of renal diseases and dialysis therapy. Recent progress in basic medical science has improved our understanding of the mechanisms by which the classically known stimuli for parathyroid hormone synthesis and secretion may act, including hypocalcaemia, hyperphosphataemia and vitamin D3 metabolism disturbances. In the treatment of hyperparathyroidism, although some authors stress the benefit of treating one of these stimuli, it is probably more effective to combine the treatment of them all. There is conclusive recent work showing the efficacy of using both CaCO3 and vitamin D3, either in chronic renal failure or in dialysis patients at every stage of hyperparathyroidism. Therefore, the treatment of hyperparathyroidism should start early, long before dialysis, and it should aim to correct any of the causal factors. Both CaCO3 and vitamin D3 derivatives may be used in the prevention and treatment of renal bone disease. The limits of this association are the increasingly often reported adynamic bone disease, which in our experience has not yet given major clinical problems, and hyperphosphataemia. Uncontrolled serum phosphate levels would counterbalance the beneficial effect of vitamin D3 derivatives on hyperparathyroidism.