Lixivaptan BALANCE study is a 650-patient Phase III, global, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, study of lixivaptan for hyponatremia in patients with heart failure. The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of lixivaptan, when compared to the placebo, in increasing serum sodium from baseline in heart failure patients with hyponatremia. In previous studies, lixivaptan improved blood sodium levels, lowered body weight and increased urine volume. Those studies suggest that lixivaptan may play an important role in treating hyponatremia and the signs and symptoms of water retention associated with heart failure, Syndrome of Inappropriate Anti-Diuretic Hormone(SIADH), and Liver Cirrhosis with
Human serum albumin Human serum albumin Human serum albumin is the serum albumin found in human blood. It is the most abundant protein in human blood plasma; it constitutes about half of serum protein. It is produced in the liver. It is soluble in water and monomeric. Albumin transports hormones, fatty acids, and other compounds, buffers pH, and maintains oncotic pressure, among other functions. Albumin is synthesized in the liver as preproalbumin, which has an N-terminal peptide that is removed before the nascent protein is released from the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The product, proalbumin, is in turn cleaved in the Golgi vesicles to