Sodium cellulose phosphate is a drug used to treat hypercalcemia and

hypercalciuria Hypercalciuria is the condition of elevated calcium in the urine. Chronic hypercalciuria may lead to impairment of renal function, nephrocalcinosis, and chronic kidney disease. Patients with hypercalciuria have kidneys that put out higher levels ...

. It has been investigating for the prevention of

kidney stones Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a calculus (medicine), solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the ...

, but with limited efficacy. This compound is an ion-exchange resin that can not be absorbed by the body. However, it can be used to restore the normal intestinal calcium absorption. When it is taken orally, it binds strongly to calcium and inhibits its absorption into the blood. From there, inhibition is caused due to the lower intraluminal calcium levels, which is typically available for absorption. The mechanism of action of the drug compound can cause a couple of internal effects. Due to the binding activity of the compound with calcium, it will also bind with magnesium and cause a depletion in the body. Working off of this effect, sodium cellulose phosphate will bind with divalent intestinal cations. Because of this binding, more oxalate is available in the blood. This high level of oxalate within the intestine can also be a source of renal stones.

Medical uses

Hypercalcemia

Hypercalcemia occurs when there is a raised level of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar t ...

in the

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

, compared to the normal range of 2.2–2.6 mmol/L. Typical symptoms of this condition include renal stones, bone pain, abdominal discomfort, and nausea/vomiting. More severe symptoms are associated with psychiatric overtones which are consumed with anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Hypercalciuria

Hypercalciuria Hypercalciuria is the condition of elevated calcium in the urine. Chronic hypercalciuria may lead to impairment of renal function, nephrocalcinosis, and chronic kidney disease. Patients with hypercalciuria have kidneys that put out higher levels ...

occurs when there is an elevated level of

calcium in the urine Urinary calcium is calcium in the urine. It is termed -calcuria or -calciuria as a suffix. Normal amount In a urinalysis, the normal amount of urinary calcium can be measured in amount per time (commonly per 24 hours). It can also be measured in a ...

. This condition is due to severe calcium reabsorption within the intestines.

Available forms

The major US

dosage form Dosage forms (also called unit doses) are pharmaceutical drug products in the form in which they are marketed for use, with a specific mixture of active ingredients and inactive components (excipients), in a particular configuration (such as a ca ...

of sodium cellulose phosphate is Calcibind, which was developed and brought to market by Mission Pharma. Calcibind is a powder dosage form, which comes in small, 2.5 gram doses, individually packaged. The

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

for this product was approved on December 28, 1982. The product was eventually removed from the market for reasons that have not been found at this time.

Research

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, physiological action studies took place to show how intestinal calcium was absorbed and how it affects other functions within the body. By a study done at the University of Texas, it was found that sodium cellulose phosphate inhibited calcium absorption through three separate techniques: * Calcium balance studies * External counting method * Formal kinetic analysis Through these studies, major conclusions were made regarding the drug compound. Sodium cellulose phosphate reduces the renal excretion of magnesium and calcium. Phosphate and oxalate were both increased in the urine, one due to intestinal hydrolysis and the other to a reduced oxalate complex. Overall, it was noted that the drug could be used to correct the increased calcium absorption that occurs in absorptive hypercalciuria.

References

Cellulose {{Pharmacology-stub