title: Exploring the Relationships between Hemoglobin, the Endothelium and Vascular Health in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The ideal hemoglobin target in chronic kidney disease remains unknown. Ultimately, individualized targets may depend upon the properties of the patient's endothelial and vascular milieu, and thus the complex relationships between these factors need to be further explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-six patients with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2) or on renal replacement therapy underwent measurement of hemoglobin, endothelial microparticles (EMPs) and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) at 0, 3 and 6 months. In addition, a number of inflammatory, cardiac and vascular biomarkers were measured at baseline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No correlation was observed between baseline values of PWV and EMPs, PWV and hemoglobin, or hemoglobin and EMPs in the overall cohort. When stratified by CKD status, a positive correlation was observed between PWV and EMP CD41-/CD144+ in patients with GFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2) only (r = 0.54, p = 0.01). Asymmetric dimethylarginine correlated with baseline PWV (r = 0.27, p = 0.07), and remained significantly correlated with the 3- and 6-month PWV measurement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this small heterogeneous cohort of dialysis and non-dialysis patients, we were unable to describe a physiologic link between anemia, endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Mhairi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sigrist
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romann
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Whalen
authors.forename: Adeera
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levin