Approval of the use of a new drug on the NHS to treat those with a chronic kidney disease has been hailed as a "huge step forward".
Dr Stewart Lambie, a consultant in renal and general medicine at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, was speaking after the Scottish Medicines Consortium approved tolvaptan - also known as Jinarc - for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)
He said: "This is a huge step forward in the management of patients with ADPKD who previously had no specific treatment available to them. It is fantastic news that patients now have access to a treatment that will significantly delay their need for dialysis or a kidney transplant."
The condition is the most common inherited kidney disease, with sufferers typically developing multiple fluid-filled cysts on their kidneys, increasing the size of the organ, and causing chronic pain.
About half of those diagnosed will be in end stage renal disease, requiring either dialysis or a kidney transplant, by the age of 54.
Tess Harris, chief executive of the PKD Charity said: "ADPKD has been likened to a 'ticking time bomb in your belly' due to its unpredictable nature and devastating impact on families.
"For the first time, we have a treatment that can delay the progression of this disease which brings hope for patients as well as future generations of ADPKD sufferers."
Both tolvaptan and sorafenib, a treatment for liver cancer, were approved for routine use by the NHS after going through the SMC's Patient and Clinician Engagement (Pace) process, which was brought in in a bid to improve access to new medicines for those at the end of life and with very rare conditions.
SMC chairman Professor Jonathan Fox said: "We know from the testimony given by patient groups and clinicians at the Pace meetings that sorafenib for liver cancer and tolvaptan for ADKPD will be welcomed. The patient group contribution played an important part in helping the committee reach its decisions on these medicines."
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