An international multicenter study has shown that the drug Semaglutide, designed to treat diabetes and obesity, protects the kidney in obese patients with chronic kidney disease.
The SMART study (SeMaglutide and Albuminuria Reduction Trial in obese individuals without diabetes), which has been conducted on non-diabetic patients with kidney disease and obesity, has involved several centers from four countries (Spain, which has been the top recruiter, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada), under the coordination of the Department of Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacology of the University of Groningen (Netherlands).
IDIBELL and Bellvitge University Hospital have participated in the study with Dr. Josep Maria Cruzado, nephrologist and head of the nephrology and kidney transplant research group; as well as the INCLIVA Health Research Institute of the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia and the University of Valencia, and also the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona. The novel results were presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week 2024 Congress, held in San Diego (United States) from October 24 to 26 and published simultaneously in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine.
Obesity and chronic kidney disease
Overweight and obesity are currently a global health problem. They are defined as abnormal or excessive when the accumulation of fat poses a risk. The prevalence of obesity worldwide has tripled since 1975 and currently affects 650 million adults (13%) and 340 million children (18%). In Spain, almost 40% of the population is overweight and 22% is obese. In addition, 3 out of 10 patients with chronic kidney disease suffer from obesity.
Currently, more than 850 million people in the world suffer from some type of kidney disease. In Spain, 15% of the adult population has kidney disease. Mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease has increased by 30% in recent years in Spain, causing 10,700 deaths in 2016.
There is an interaction between obesity and chronic kidney disease and the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this interaction are complex. Antidiabetic and other drug therapies have been used to reduce body weight in patients with and without diabetes, without inducing hypoglycemia. However, its specific effect in patients with chronic kidney disease and obesity was unknown until now.
The current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involved 125 patients with chronic kidney disease and no diabetes who were randomly given Semaglutide 2.4 mg per week or placebo.
Other Spanish centers have also participated in the study, such as the Ribera-Polusa Lugo Hospital. Other centres in the Netherlands, Germany and Canada have also taken part.
The study was funded through a Novo Nordisk research grant to the Groninger Medical University Center.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).