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
Serum sickness proteins to form immune complexes. These complexes precipitate, enter the walls of blood vessels, and activate the complement cascade, initiating an inflammatory response and consuming much of the available complement component 3 (C3). The result is a leukocytoclastic vasculitis. This results in hypocomplementemia, a low C3 level in serum. They can also cause more reactions resulting in typical symptoms of serum sickness. Serum sickness can be developed as a result of exposure to antibodies derived from animals. These sera or antitoxins are generally administered to prevent or treat an infection or envenomation. Some of the drugs associated with serum sickness