Characteristics of dialysis-related amyloidosis in patients on haemodialysis therapy for more than 30 years.
BACKGROUND
Dialysis-related amyloidosis is one of the chronic the complications of haemodialysis. We conducted an investigation of dialysis-associated amyloidosis in extremely long-term survivors.


METHODS
Twenty-one patients on haemodialysis for more than 30 years ('30+' group) and 13 patients on haemodialysis for 20-30 years ('20-30' group) at Sangenjaya Hospital were enrolled in this study. The frequencies of operations for conditions related to haemodialysis-related amyloidosis were examined.


RESULTS
The mean age at the start of haemodialysis was younger in the '30+' group (29.1 +/- 7.3 years) than in the '20-30' group (40.5 +/- 8.2 years, P = 0.0003). Eighteen (85.7%) patients had undergone surgery for CTS, six (28.6%) had undergone surgery for trigger finger and six (28.6%) had undergone surgery for cervical destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA) at 30 years after the start of haemodialysis therapy. Patients who were over the age of 30 years at the start of dialysis therapy more frequently underwent CTS operations (100%) than those who were under 30 years of age at the start of dialysis (76.9%; P = 0.025) in the '30+' group at 30 years after the start of haemodialysis. The frequencies of operations for CTS did not differ significantly between the '20-30' group and the '30+' group.


CONCLUSIONS
Haemodialysis-associated amyloidosis was common in extremely long-term survivors. Even though the mean age at the start of haemodialysis was younger in the '30+' group than in the '20-30' group, the frequency of operations for CTS did not differ. This may be attributable to the recent advances in haemodialysis technologies.
Otsubo
Shigeru
S
Department of Blood Purification, Sangenjaya Hospital, 1-21-5 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0024, Japan. sotsubo@kc.twmu.ac.jp
Kimata
Naoki
N
Okutsu
Ichiro
I
Oshikawa
Kazunori
K
Ueda
Syuitsu
S
Sugimoto
Hisayuki
H
Mitobe
Michihiro
M
Uchida
Keiko
K
Otsubo
Kimiko
K
Nitta
Kosaku
K
Akiba
Takashi
T
D000368:Aged; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D025242:Spondylarthropathies / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D052582:Trigger Finger Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery