The ERA-EDTA has decided to perform a clinical trial aimed at testing the infl uence of a stepwise, multifactorial intervention approach designed in such a way as to calibrate the treatment to the risk profile of the individual patient.
The acronym of this study is ARPA (Arrest Renal disease Progression Aim). ARPA will focus on patients with risk factors for progression of renal diseases and will find out the more effective drug combination for preventing functional decline.
The first version of the study protocol was developed by present and past Council Members under the leadership of the immediate Past President of the ERA-EDTA Professor Francesco Locatelli.
The protocol will be soon submitted to an external review process. ARPA is designed to pragmatically test the validity of available treatments used in combination. The study will have a PROBE design (Prospective Randomized Open, Blinded End-point). Among the advantages of this design are lower cost and similarity to standard clinical practice, which should make the results more easily applicable in routine medical care.
This trial will also provide an occasion for European Investigators to perform specific sub-projects testing/exploring various issues pertaining molecular genetics of renal diseases, patho-physiology and mechanism(s) of renal disease progression, risk factors for cardiovascular complications and renal disease progression. To this end working groups, coordinated by leading European investigators will be soon organised.
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