Prospective randomized study evaluating the efficacy of the spherical adsorptive carbon AST-120 in chronic kidney disease patients with moderate decrease in renal function.

Aims: We studied whether adding the spherical adsorptive carbon AST-120 to conventional treatments is effective in inhibiting progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) at the stage of moderate decrease in renal function.

Methods: 43 CKD patients with moderately impaired renal function indicated by glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 20-70 ml/min as measured by non-radiolabeled iothalamate clearance method were enrolled in the study. 26 patients showing a decrease of GFR by 5 ml/min during a 1-year observation period were randomized to receive ongoing treatments only (control group, 12 cases) or with AST-120 co-administered with ongoing treatment (AST-120 group, 14 cases). The intervention period was 1 year and the change in GFR was the primary evaluation variable.

Results: The mean changes of GFR per month (DeltaGFR) in the intervention period were not significantly different between both groups. However, when comparing the DeltaGFR in the observation and intervention periods for each group, the rate of decline in GFR was significantly retarded (p < 0.001) in the AST-120 group while no significant difference was observed in the control group.

Conclusion: These results suggest that co-administration of AST-120 with conventional treatments retards decline in renal function in CKD patients with moderate decrease in renal function.