Aluminum and lead absorption from dietary sources in women ingesting calcium citrate

Ferric citrate hydrate as a phosphate binder and risk of aluminum toxicity

Ferric citrate hydrate was recently approved in Japan as an oral phosphate binder to be taken with food for the control of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The daily therapeutic dose is about 3 to 6 g, which comprises about 2 to 4 g of citrate. Oral citrate solubilizes aluminum that is present in food and drinking water, and opens the tight junctions in the intestinal epithelium, thereby increasing aluminum absorption and urinary excretion. In healthy animals drinking tap water, oral citrate administration increased aluminum absorption and, over a 4-week period, increased aluminum deposition in brain and bone by about 2- and 20-fold, respectively. Renal excretion of aluminum is impaired in patients with chronic kidney disease, thereby increasing the risk of toxicity. Based on human and animal studies it can be surmised that patients with CKD who are treated with ferric citrate hydrate to control hyperphosphatemia are likely to experience enhanced absorption of aluminum from food and drinking water, thereby increasing the risk of aluminum overload and toxicity.

Aluminum Toxicity Following IV Use of Oral Methadone Solution

BACKGROUND

Aluminum toxicity has been reported in renal failure patients exposed to aluminum-contaminated dialysate and oral phosphate binders. We report a case of significant aluminum toxicity in a non-hemodialysis patient.

CASE REPORT

A 43-year-old male IV drug user presented to the hospital with a seizure disorder of recent onset, progressive cognitive decline, ataxia, and dysarthria. The serum aluminum concentration was 180 micrograms/L (6.65 micromol/L). For 3 to 4 years prior, the patient had injected 'cooked' oral methadone. The methadone solution was heated in an aluminum pot to reduce the volume and then injected intravenously (IV). He was treated with IV deferoxamine over 9 months until he failed to return. Serum aluminum level after 9 months of treatment was 64.5 microgram/L (2.39 micromol/L). Neurological symptoms were partially improved.

CONCLUSION

Chronic IV injection of oral methadone solution heated in an aluminum-based cooking utensil may result in significant aluminum toxicity.

Safety of New Phosphate Binders for Chronic Renal Failure

Phosphate (Pi) retention is a common problem in patients with chronic kidney disease, particularly in those who have reached end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In addition to causing secondary hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy, recent evidence suggests that, in ESRD patients, high serum phosphorus concentration and increased calcium and phosphorous (Ca x P) product are associated with vascular and cardiac calcifications and increased mortality. Dietary phosphorus restriction and Pi removal by dialysis are not sufficient to restore Pi homeostasis. Reduction of intestinal Pi absorption with the use of Pi binders is currently the primary treatment for Pi retention in patients with ESRD. The use of large doses of calcium-containing Pi binders along with calcitriol administration may contribute to over-suppression of parathyroid hormone secretion and adynamic bone disease as well as to a high incidence of vascular calcifications. When used in patients with impaired renal function, aluminium salts were found to accumulate in bone and other tissues, resulting in osteomalacia and encephalopathy.Sevelamer, an aluminium- and calcium-free Pi binder can reduce serum phosphorus concentration and is associated with a significantly lower incidence of hypercalcaemia, while maintaining the ability to suppress parathyroid hormone production. An additional benefit of sevelamer is its ability to lower low density lipoprotein-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels. Sevelamer attenuates the progression of vascular calcifications in haemodialysis patients, which may lead to lower mortality. The use of sevelamer in non-dialysed patients might aggravate metabolic acidosis, common in these patients. Several other calcium-free Pi binders are in development. Lanthanum carbonate has shown significant promise in clinical trials in ESRD patients. Magnesium salts do not offer a significant advantage over currently available Pi binders. Their use is restricted to patients receiving dialysis since excess magnesium must be removed by dialysis. Iron-based compounds have shown variable efficacy in short-term clinical trials in small numbers of haemodialysis patients. Mixed metal hydroxyl carbonate compounds have shown efficacy in animals but have not been studied in humans. Major safety issues include absorption of the metal component with possible tissue accumulation and toxicity.

The optimal approach to the patient with oxalosis

There are many challenges in oxalosis, including prompt, clinical recognition of this inborn error of metabolism, management of its many medical problems, provision of adequate care at end-stage kidney disease, and optimizing both the timing and results of liver and kidney allografts. This review provides a framework for the interested clinician to understand the many problems, and to begin to assimilate knowledge about an increasingly recognized, metabolic disorder. It ends with potential, innovative therapies that are not yet at the patient's bedside.

Impact of oral bases on aluminum absorption

Control of hyperphosphatemia in renal failure is often difficult to achieve. Although calcium-containing phosphate binders have become the preferred phosphate binders, many patients require the addition of an aluminum-containing phosphate binder (APB). Enhanced aluminum absorption has been noted when APBs are administered with citrate-containing products such as citrate/citric acid solution (CCA). Alternative phosphate binders such as calcium acetate may also increase aluminum absorption. This study investigated the effect of CCAs on aluminum absorption when aluminum antacids (APBs) were administered concurrently and 2 hours apart. The effects of the alternative alkalinizing agent sodium bicarbonate and the alternate phosphate binding agent calcium acetate on aluminum absorption were also studied. During five 2-day phases, ten normal volunteers randomly received three times daily with standardized meals aluminum hydroxide alone and concurrently with NaHCO3, calcium acetate, CCA, or with CCA 2 hours postprandially. Twenty-four hour urines were collected on the second day of each phase and aluminum excretion was determined using inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. Urine aluminum excretion was statistically significantly (P <.005) elevated in subjects receiving Al(OH)3 and CCA both with meals, 269.3 +/- 146.3 microg/d, and 2 hours after meals, 303.3 +/- 142.9 microg/d, compared with 79.2 +/- 52.0 microg/d during treatment with Al(OH)3 alone. Administration of CCA 2 hours after APB does not permit the safe use of these agents concurrently. Concomitant administration of sodium bicarbonate and calcium acetate with APBs appears to be safe, as aluminum absorption was not affected.

Aluminum exposure and metabolism

Aluminum (Al) is a nonessential, toxic metal to which humans are frequently exposed. Oral exposure to aluminum occurs through ingestion of aluminum-containing pharmaceuticals and to a lesser extent foods and water. Parenteral exposure to aluminum can occur via contaminated total parenteral nutrition (TPN), intravenous (i.v.) solutions, or contaminated dialysates. Inhalation exposure may be important in some occupational settings. The gut is the most effective organ in preventing tissue aluminum accumulation after oral exposure. Typically gastrointestinal absorption of aluminum from diets is < 1%. Although the mechanisms of aluminum absorption have not been elucidated, both passive and active transcellular processes and paracellular transport are believed to occur. Aluminum and calcium may share some absorptive pathways. Aluminum absorption is also affected by the speciation of aluminum and a variety of other substances, including citrate, in the gut milieu. Not all absorbed or parenterally delivered aluminum is excreted in urine. Low glomerular filtration of aluminum reflects that most aluminum in plasma is nonfiltrable because of complexation to proteins, predominantly transferrin. The importance of biliary secretion of aluminum is debatable and the mechanism(s) is poorly understood and appears to be saturable by fairly low oral doses of aluminum.