Faculty Research
Darius L. Mason
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Pharmacy Practice Darius L. Mason, Pharm.D., BCPS, has been awarded a grant from the Genzyme Corporation in the amount of $187,863 to study the effects of different phosphate binders on vascular calcification, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. CKD patients experience significant morbidity and mortality from heart disease. Several factors contribute to incidences of heart disease in these patients, including high levels of phosphorus. High levels of phosphorus can lead to calcification, or hardening, of the blood vessels. The calcification process begins in the early stages of disease and continually progresses as kidney function declines. Additionally, CKD patients often have high levels of a substance called fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), a phosphorus excreting hormone, which has been related to heart disease. As kidney function declines, less phosphorus is excreted and more FGF-23 is released. Phosphate binding medicines are used to lower the amount of phosphorus absorbed. Recent evidence has suggested that use of phosphate binder therapy in the non-dialysis population lowers concentrations of FGF-23, a more sensitive regulator of mineral metabolism
than phosphorus, associated both with vessel calcification and mortality. However, initiating phosphate binder therapy in the early stages of CKD to reduce or slow the progression of vascular calcification has not fully been explored. Furthermore, lowering FGF-23 levels in CKD patients may also lower substances in the blood that cause hardening of blood vessels and blood vessel inflammation in the CKD population. Dr. Mason and his co-investigators’ research is designed to determine if using the phosphate binders in the earlier stages of kidney disease (before dialysis) can decrease FGF-23 levels and biomarkers that are associated with hardening of the blood vessels and heart disease. This collaborative research project includes the support of faculty at ACPHS who are experts in kidney disease (Dr. Amy Barton Pai) and drug development (Dr. Shaker Mousa) in addition to the assistance of Albany Medical Center physician Dr. George Eisele. Clinically important modifications of biomarkers of vascular calcification, inflammation and vessel health after treatment with phosphate binders may indicate a reduction in the progression of blood vessel calcification and suggest a heart benefit in the nondialysis CKD population.
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