[Introduction to lanthanum carbonate: pharmacology, safety and tolerability]

The present report describes different aspects of Fosrenol (lantahnum carbonate) which can be summarized as follows: Lanthanum shows a great binding affinity for phosphate. It is minimally absorbed by intestine and is eliminated by biliary route thus renal failure does not favour body accumulation of lanthanum. The effectiveness and safety of Fosrenol has been proven in clinical trials which have include more of 5,500 patients. Fosrenol has shown to be effective in controlling serum phosphate in short and long term studies (6 years). Lanthanum does not accumulate in the bone mineralization front and does not produce low bone turnover. Lanthanum is not found in the central nervous system. The presence of lanthanum in liver is explained by the fact that the minimal amount of lanthanum absorbed has to be disposed through liver.