Preventive measures and new pharmacological approaches of calcium and phosphate disorders

Abnormalities of bone mineral parameters (calcium, phosphate, vitamin D, and parathyroid hormone) are nearly omnipresent in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). These typically consist of hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, abnormalities of vitamin D metabolism, and secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). Currently, several lines of evidence suggest that these abnormalities may have consequences beyond the typical consequence of renal bone disease, with a major role in determining cardiovascular disease, including arterial calcification. The 'classical' treatment of SHPT and hyperphosphatemia in HD patients consists of phosphate binders, vitamin D receptor activators (VDRAs), and/or calcimimetics. Calcium- or aluminum-based phosphate binder prescriptions and calcitriol administration are therapeutic tools not free of complications, increasing the risk of cardiovascular calcification in the HD population. New calcium- and aluminum-free phosphate binders, such as lanthanum carbonate and sevelamer hydrochloride, new VDRA (paricalcitol), and cinacalcet hydrochloride can be used to treat SHPT, slow down the atherosclerotic process, and prevent vascular calcification in HD patients.