Buffering chronic kidney disease with sodium bicarbonate.

The roles of the kidney are well defined, if there is a progressive loss in renal function, the kidney is no longer able to perform the listed tasks and chronic kidney disease (CKD) persists. In both clinical and experimental studies, NaHCO3 supplementation has been shown to improve glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as well as halt the progression toward end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In an article recently published in Clinical Science (vol 132 (11) 1179-1197), Ray et al. presented an intriguing and timely study, which investigates the mechanisms involved in the protection that follows oral NaHCO3 ingestion. Here we comment on their research findings.