Blunted cerebral hemodynamic responses to incremental exercise in patients with end-stage renal disease

Purpose The aims of this study were to compare cerebral hemodynamics and maximal oxygen uptake ( V O 2peak ) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) vs. age-matched healthy controls during maximal exercise. Methods Twelve patients with ESRD and twelve healthy adults (CTR group) performed exhaustive incremental exercise test. Throughout the exercise test, near-infrared spectroscopy allowed the investigation of changes in oxyhemoglobin (∆O 2 Hb), deoxyhemoglobin (∆HHb), and total hemoglobin (∆THb) in the prefrontal cortex. Results Compared to CTR, V O 2peak was significantly lower in ESRD group ( P