A NEW Era in Kidney Care

The Promise of SGLT2 Inhibitors for the Future of Kidney Disease Treatment

Contributor: Michelle Hampson

There are many causes of kidney disease, which is a complex condition that often worsens over time. The best treatment involves detecting it early and taking steps slow or stop disease progression. Until recently, the only options people had to slow kidney disease progression involved lifestyle changes and a small handful of medications, such as RAS inhibitors. While these approaches can be useful, people now have an additional tool to help preserve kidney health: a class of medication called SGLT2 inhibitors.

SGLT2 inhibitors were first developed to treat people with type 2 diabetes. However, initial studies in people with type 2 diabetes hinted that these medications may not only improve cardiovascular health, but kidney health as well.

This prompted researchers to launch a series of studies exploring the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors in people with kidney disease. The results have been remarkable, showing that SGLT2 inhibitors can lower a person’s risk of kidney failure by about 30 to 40%. What’s more, the medications can significantly lower people’s risk of heart complications.

“SGLT2 inhibitors are one of the most exciting advances the kidney community has seen in decades,” says Dr. Adeera Levin, a nephrologist and executive director of BC Renal. “These medications will help many patients live dialysis-free for longer periods of time, and with better heart health. They are a gamechanger in terms of preventative medicine.”

SGLT2 inhibitors have shown a number of other benefits for kidney patients, including lower weight and blood pressure, fewer kidney stones, and an increase in hemoglobin (a protein in our red blood cells that helps carry oxygen).

While the medications have shown many benefits, they do not have a lot of side effects and have been found to be very safe in people with chronic kidney disease.

Before beginning any medication, it’s important to speak with your doctor and make sure it’s an appropriate therapy given your unique circumstances and health status.

Research on SGLT2 inhibitors is still ongoing, and studies have not yet explored this type of medication in certain subsets of kidney disease, including in people with: autosomal dominant polycystic disease, type 1 diabetes, antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody–associated vasculitis, lupus nephritis, and patients with solid organ transplants. However, all of these populations are being studied in trials.

For millions of people living around the world with kidney disease, the emergence of SGLT2 inhibitors offers a new and effective way to preserve kidney health – allowing them to delay or avoid difficult treatments like dialysis, and live life more fully.

This article is republished from the Kidney Magazine.