Kidney disease patient calls for more research after Cambridge trial
The trial found there was possible improvement for certain patients
Non-white and male patients who have kidney disease could see their quality of life improve thanks to a Cambridge trial.
The SIMPLIFIED trial investigated high-dose vitamin D supplements for people on dialysis and while the overall results found no benefits, there were possible improvements for non-white patients and men.
Because of this, researchers and patient groups say more research on improving dialysis patient outcomes and quality of life is needed.
“Dialysis is keeping me alive, but so much of my life is spent simply living between sessions," Sameer Solomon, who took part in the study, said.
"The burden of kidney disease and care is enormous, yet research remains underfunded and treatment options are limited; that’s why this trial and the wider research it contributes to is so important.
"It gives me hope that we can drive progress towards better treatments, improved care, and a brighter future for people living with kidney disease.”
Around 30,000 people in the UK rely on dialysis to survive, and complications including heart attacks, strokes and infections are common.
Sameer was diagnosed with late-stage kidney disease in 2020 and has been on dialysis for more than three years.
“Transplanted kidneys don’t last forever," he said.
“Assuming everything goes well and I get a transplant, I know in 10-20 years time, I could be back on dialysis, and it needs to be better then than it is now.”
How many took part in the trial?
SIMPLIFIED - led from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and the University of Cambridge - began in 2017 and involved patients from 55 dialysis centres.
The trial of more than 3,800 patients across England, Scotland and Wales looked at whether a high-dose of vitamin D could improve survival and help avoid complications.
Half of patients in the trial received normal care, while half were given an additional high dose of vitamin D every two weeks.
Participants were then followed for several years until the trial completed in October last year to understand whether the treatment had any benefits.
Results of the trial - presented at the American Society of Nephrology conference in Denver, USA - show high-dose vitamin D doesn’t help everyone but they offer hope for Sameer and other patients.
The study used data already collected across the NHS to monitor participants following the trial.
'Urgent need' for more research
“The results of the trial do not support use of high-dose vitamin D supplementation for all dialysis patients," said Dr Rona Smith, consultant nephrologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and senior research associate at the University of Cambridge, who led the trial.
"But we found some interesting patterns in some sub-groups of patients, which require further investigation.”
Dr Smith said due to the number of people with kidney disease, there is "an urgent need for large-scale research" into how best to slow progression of the disease and improve chance of survival.