A startling number of Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease.

Most don’t know they have it.

As kidney function declines, the incidences of heart disease, stroke, and death surge higher.¹

Major risk factors for chronic kidney disease include:²

• High Blood Pressure
• Diabetes/obesity
• Older age

Early stages of chronic kidney disease are usually asymptomatic, and if left unaddressed may lead to end-stage kidney failure.³

Prevention is easy when starting at a young age by keeping blood pressure and glucose in optimal ranges and maintaining a healthy body weight.³

Slowing the progression of existing chronic kidney disease, however, remains a major challenge.⁴

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a report showing that between the years 2000 and 2019, the number of people in the United States with end-stage kidney disease more than doubled.⁵

Conventional treatments for kidney failure are limited to dialysis three times-a-week or kidney transplant.⁶

Growing numbers of people are vulnerable to chronic kidney disease, especially those with risk factors. This prompted us to investigate methods to reduce progression or partially reverse this rising epidemic.

As you will read in this editorial, currently available drugs prescribed "on- and off-label" are demonstrating some unexpected kidney, heart, and brain protective effects.

Chronic kidney disease affects more than 1 in 7 U.S. adults.⁷

Protecting one’s kidneys involves controlling blood pressure and glucose, eating healthy, and guarding against chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Avoid prolonged use of common drugs that are toxic to the kidneys such as NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen)⁸ and proton pump inhibitors (e,g. omeprazole).⁹

When a blood test detects a chronic kidney problem, one must initiate aggressive approaches to halt or slow the worsening of the disease before full-blown kidney failure ensues.

A Multi-Purpose Drug: Colchicine

Colchicine is one of the oldest medications still in use today.

It has long been used to prevent or treat gout.¹⁰

Published literature has uncovered evidence that colchicine may be effective against coronary heart disease, pericarditis, and post-operative atrial fibrillation.¹¹

The anti-inflammatory properties of colchicine make it a candidate in the adjuvant treatment of a range of degenerative illnesses involving inflammation.¹²

Colchicine and Kidneys

Preclinical evidence reveals a protective effect of colchicine against kidney fibrosis.^13,14 This prompted researchers to study whether colchicine could delay the progression of chronic kidney disease in humans.

A Korean multicenter case-control study involved gout patients who had used a range of drugs to treat gout over a 20-year period.

Patients with significant chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression or the onset of kidney failure requiring replacement therapy were matched to controls.

The results showed that gout patients with over 90 cumulative daily doses of colchicine had 23% lower odds of chronic kidney disease progression.¹⁵

These results are impressive as they occurred despite some patients already having advanced kidney disease before colchicine use began.

These correlation-based findings provide a basis for studying colchicine directly in interventional randomized clinical trials in early-stage kidney disease patients for a longer-term period. The objective would be to see if chronic kidney disease progression can be halted or slowed.

However, caution is warranted when prescribing colchicine to CKD patients due to the potential for increased drug accumulation and toxicity. Close monitoring under the care of an expert medical professional is required.¹⁶

Colchicine and the Heart

Those with failing kidneys have sharply elevated risks of cardiovascular diseases.^17,18

Chronic kidney disease patients should method-ically reduce every cardiovascular risk factor.¹⁸ This includes hypertension and a myriad of blood markers such as elevated homocysteine and artery-clogging lipids like apolipoprotein B.¹⁹

Colchicine at lower doses has been proven to provide cardiovascular benefits in patients with coronary artery disease and recent stroke.^20-24 It is encouraging that similar doses have shown promising results to slow progression of chronic kidney disease. More extensive trials are needed to confirm these findings.^15,25,26

American Heart Association Reviews Colchicine

The American Heart Association published an in-depth review of colchicine in 2021 that acknowledged the merits and limitations of colchicine research. It concluded by stating:

"Altogether, colchicine’s simplicity, low cost and effectiveness may provide an important addition to other standard cardiovascular therapies. Ongoing studies will address complementary questions pertaining to the use of low-dose colchicine for the treatment of cardiovascular disease."²⁷

A 2024 study published by the Mayo Clinic suggests that the use of colchicine in patients with peripheral artery disease is associated with reduced risks of amputations and cardiovascular death.²⁸

The results showed the colchicine group had a 25% lower risk of major adverse limb events over an average follow-up of 4.5 years.

The Mayo Clinic researchers surmise that the anti-inflammatory effects of colchicine may offer protective effects in vascular areas beyond coronary arteries, highlighting a potential broader benefit for peripheral artery disease patients.

Based on what we know today, it seems to make sense for chronic kidney disease patients to ask their doctor to consider prescribing between 0.5 mg and 1 mg of colchicine daily.

Anti-Diabetic Drug that Protects Kidneys

Your kidneys filter about 50 gallons (180 liters) of blood every day.³⁵

During this filtration process, glucose is temporarily removed from blood and placed into tiny renal tubules.

Your kidneys either return the glucose to circulating blood or shunt it to your bladder for urinary excretion.³⁵

A determining factor in kidneys that enables the return of glucose to blood is sodium-glucose co-transporters.

A drug that inhibits sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 propels glucose towards urinary excretion, which decreases blood glucose.^36,37

This drug class known as SGLT2 inhibitors (sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors) has been heavily advertised to type II diabetics. ^38,39

SGLT2 inhibitors have demonstrated benefits beyond mere glucose reduction. They help protect against most forms of chronic kidney disease.^38-40

Evidence Supporting SGLT2 Inhibitors

In clinical trials assessing the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on type II diabetics, markers of kidney function were closely monitored.

That’s because SGLT2 inhibitors function by moving excess glucose from the kidneys into urine, instead of returning it all to the bloodstream. Instead of impairing kidney function, SGTL2 inhibitors have been shown to improve it.^38,40-42

One measure that researchers looked at was the level of the protein albumin in urine (albuminuria). The presence of albumin in urine, especially at higher levels, indicates worsening kidney function.

In a comprehensive study from two large clinical trials, researchers focused on individuals with type II diabetes, many of whom had chronic or advanced kidney disease. SGLT2 inhibitors showed potential renal benefits, including progression of albuminuria (protein in urine), that was 27% less in the SGLT2 Inhibitor group than in the placebo arm.⁴³

Regression of albuminuria (less albumin in urine) occurred 70% more in the SGLT2 inhibitor group, indicating an improvement in these advanced-stage chronic kidney failure patients.

A blood marker of kidney function is the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). It is included in most CBC/Chemistry Blood Test panels.

Among type II diabetic patients taking an SGLT2 inhibitor, 40% fewer of this group experienced a massive drop in eGFR, the need for kidney dialysis or transplant, or death from kidney causes, compared to the placebo arm.⁴³

In this study, serious side effects were 7% less common among the group receiving the SGLT2 inhibitor.

Other studies of SGLT2 inhibitors indicate kidney-protecting effects including reductions of protein in urine and preservation of the critical eGFR blood marker.^44,45

The primary outcomes identified in these studies were reduced markers of severity of type II diabetes and reduced incidences of cardiovascular events.

The observation of kidney protection in response to the SGLT2 inhibitors reflects intriguing data that may be of considerable clinical value to those with failing kidneys.

As we were investigating the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors for anti-aging purposes, the data became strong enough that the FDA started to approve them to slow the worsening of chronic kidney disease.^46-48

And the great news is that as more companies have introduced their own versions of SGLT2 inhibitors, prices are expected to drop significantly compared to the initial drugs on the market.

What Should Chronic Kidney Failure Patients Consider?

Those stricken with chronic kidney disease should follow all conventional guidelines to slow progression.

Alternative guidelines include consuming a mostly plant-based diet,^49,50 avoiding red meat,⁵¹ optimizing all cardiovascular risk markers, and taking nutrients that have demonstrated some kidney benefits, such as coenzyme Q10^52-57 and curcumin.^58,59

Another nutrient to consider is terminalia bellerica which lowers uric acid.^63,64 Lowering uric acid helps support kidney function. Optimal levels of uric acid are less than 6 mg/dL.⁶⁵ Comprehensive blood tests usually include uric acid levels.

Show your doctor this editorial that describes potential benefits of lower doses of colchicine on cardiovascular endpoints, as well as the data correlating 23% lower odds of chronic kidney disease progression with colchicine in gout patients.¹⁵

Also show your doctor the potential benefits of SGLT2 inhibitor drugs on improving kidney function and reducing kidney disease markers through the systemic pathways on which they act.

On the previous page there is a list of currently available SGLT2 inhibitor drugs, which are becoming more affordable because of greater competition among different brands. More insurance plans now cover them to treat heart and kidney issues in addition to type II diabetes.

Do You Have Kidney Disease?

As many as 9 in 10 adults with chronic kidney disease do not know they have it!⁶⁶

As a result, damage silently smolders until it reaches advanced stages when kidney failure transforms into harsh reality.

Comprehensive annual blood tests can detect kidney problems early when corrective measures can be taken, such as stopping chronic use of drugs like proton-pump inhibitors that can damage kidneys.

These blood tests can also identify early-stage type II diabetes in time to reverse it and protect your kidneys, heart, and brain from the damage inflicted by excess blood glucose.

Annual Blood Test Super Sale

Since our founding 48 years ago, Life Extension has urged its supporters to have annual blood tests.

The number of lives saved by our recommendations is huge. This includes men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer who are readily cured with today’s less side-effect-prone treatments.

The most popular blood test our supporters order each year is the comprehensive Male or Female Panel. We normally charge $325 for these tests that cost around $2,800 at commercial labs.

Once a year, we discount the prices of our lab tests, enabling readers to obtain the Male or Female Blood Test Panel for only $243.

This represents more than 90% savings.

To order a Male and/or Female Panel and other tests at the year’s lowest prices, call 1-800-208-3444 (24 hours) or visit: www.LifeExtension.com/blood

You can view the tests included in the Male or Female Panels on the page to the right.

Those who are concerned that they are at high risk for chronic kidney disease, such as those with hypertension or diabetes may consider the most accurate blood marker of renal function called cystatin-C.⁶⁷

This test is available during the Blood Test Super Sale for $74.25 and can be added to the Male or Female Panels.

For longer life,

William Faloon, Co-Founder, Life Extension®

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