Kidney disease patients prevented from receiving therapy due to restrictive public coverage.(NEWS / NOUVELLES)

Albertans living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis are not receiving the same access to alternate therapy choices available to patients in all other provinces and territories in Canada. Alberta is the only province where Renagel, an effect Albtive and safe therapy to control phosphorous levels in dialysis patients, is not publicly reimbursed, therefore limiting the specialists' access to it.

"A clear divide in the equality of treatment availability for patients in Alberta is unmistakably evident," says Nairne Scott-Douglas, medical director of the Southern Alberta Renal Program.

"As nephrologists, all that we ask is to have access to all therapy options in our armamentarium and then let us use our training and expertise to prescribe the best solution for each individual patient appropriate clinical situations."

A nation-wide study of dialysis patients suggest that Albertans are receiving, on average, twice the amount of daily calcium recommended by Health Canada while some are taking in up to four times the suggested dosage. Health Canada recommends 1,000 to 1,200 mg per day, up to a maximum of 1,500 mg as the adequate intake level for calcium supplements in healthy adult Canadians.

People with impaired kidney function cannot excrete excess minerals from their bodies, resulting in calcium accumulation in the body, making the individuals at risk of vascular calcification, hypercalcemia and calcium deposits.

"It's a double-edged sword," says Carroll Thorowsky, a caregiver based in Edmonton.

Thorowsky's husband lost his right leg after suffering from calcified tissue in his body after two years of taking high doses of calcium.

"We know it's imperative to control phosphorous in order to avoid future heart disease," Thorowsky says.

"But by managing the disease one way, we are causing damage in another. What is truly upsetting is that there are therapies available that may have avoided this incident, but we unfortunately never knew they were an option."

Genzyme Canada

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