Use of Sodium Thiosulfate in Renal Failure

Many doctors begin the use of sodium thiosulfate as an antidote for patients suffering from severe renal failure. With the long list of other medications, patients suffering from this chronic problem are beginning to take test treatments of sodium thiosulfate. While it is still under early development, sodium thiosulfate may be a savior to many people suffering from renal failure.

Sodium Thiosulfate and Calcification

• Sodium thiosulfate's normal use is to help treat soft tissue calcifications in calciphylaxis. While not directly related, kidney disease is known to include developing vascular calcification, which is the plaque that will clog the kidney and cause it to fail. A recent test run on rats showed that added doses of sodium thiosulfate elevated their calcium excretion from their urine and much of that was the buildup from aortic, heart and kidney tissues, nearly cleaning out all of the deposits inside of them. The reason for the success is attributed to enhancing the acid that induces urinary calcium loss so that it all flows out of the patient.

Risks

• This is considered a "risk-benefit," however, as with the loss of the calcium deposits inside your body, the sodium thiosulfate will also lower bone strength by ridding the body of more than just the bad calcium. Due to this, doctor's are still in the testing process to decide if this is a risk they are willing to take when treating patients with renal failure. While the benefits to the kidney is very good, the chances of causing major bone damage is very risky and is the reason why sodium thiosulfate is still in the experimental stage before it is released as a remedy to help the kidney.