Oxidative stress and asymmetric dimethylarginine are associated with cardiovascular complications in hemodialysis patients: improvements by L-arginine intake.
OBJECTIVE
High incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is a result of an interlaced relation between oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction (ED) and inflammation. This study tries to investigate the development of these processes in CKD patients receiving conservative treatment or on hemodialysis (HD). We also examined the modulating effect of oral L-arginine in HD patients having CVD.


METHODS
The study included 12 healthy volunteers and 63 renal patients divided into 15 renal impairment, 18 HD free of CVD, and 30 HD suffering from CVD (HD+CVD). Of the latter, 15 patients were given oral L-arginine (15 g/day, 5 g t.i.d.) for 1 month. Blood levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), malondialdehyde (MDA), and homocysteine and myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) were estimated.


RESULTS
ADMA, MDA and homocysteine were significantly elevated in renal impairment group. HD and HD+CVD patients experienced higher levels, along with high MPO activity. Significant reduction by 21, 46, 11, and 26%, respectively, in the aforementioned parameters was observed in HD+CVD patients following L-arginine intake.


CONCLUSIONS
We recommend considering ADMA, MDA, homocysteine and MPO as potentially important cardiovascular risk factors in CKD patients, and focus the attention to the cardiovascular advantages of L-arginine in these patients.
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Hala O
HO
El-Mesallamy
Sherehan G
SG
Abdel Hamid
Mohamed Z
MZ
Gad
D000368:Aged; D001120:Arginine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012307:Risk Factors
D006710:Homocysteine; D008315:Malondialdehyde; C018524:N,N-dimethylarginine; D001120:Arginine; D009195:Peroxidase