The Ministry of Health has approved a treatment for chronic kidney disease that delays dialysis for up to 13 years.

The Ministry of Health approved this Wednesday funding new treatments for adult patients with chronic kidney disease which has been shown to reduce the risk of disease progression, hospitalization and even delay dialysis for three to 13 years.

A new therapeutic option that is being marketed this Wednesday will mean benefits for six million peoplepotential cases, as two out of every three remain undiagnosed as it is a “silent disease” that is asymptomatic in the initial stages.

The head of the nephrology service at the University Teaching Hospital of Valencia, José Luis Gorriz, explained, according to EFE, that treatment with empaglifosin, a molecule that was until now available to patients with type 2 diabetes, can now be prescribed to people with the disease. y chronic kidney disease without diabetes, if it is proven that significantly improves his clinical situation.

“In Spain, there are twice as many people with chronic diseases as there are unemployed,” emphasized the expert, who focused on early diagnosis since it is a pathology “affecting one in seven people, 15% of the population.” And will become the leading cause of death by the end of the century“In Spain, treatment of the most advanced stages of chronic kidney disease accounts for 3% of public health expenditure and 4% of hospital care.

Gorris insisted early detection to reduce the risk of worsening or failure of kidney function and hospitalization.and expressed regret that most cases today are detected urgently.

For her part, the head of the department of family and community medicine, Flora Lopez, explained that to diagnose the disease in primary care, it is necessary to carry out a blood test that checks the efficiency with which the kidneys filter the blood, and another urine test. which measures the presence of albumin and creatinine.

This primary care expert suggested screening for this chronic disease which will be intended mainly for population with diabetes and people over 65 years of ageas actual function is lost with age and is estimated to affect 33% of people in this age group.

Another group that should be examined is hypertensive patients and patients with cardiovascular diseases. According to this specialist, there is a very close connection between the heart and the kidneys, “and when one of these organs becomes ill, the other becomes ill with a delay of less than two years.”

Fortunately, he commented, “80% of patients with chronic kidney disease are in the early stages and are in primary care, so there is an opportunity to provide treatment before the disease progresses.”