Oxidative stress in haemodialysis - intradialytic changes

Oxidative stress is likely to be involved in the development of complications due to haemodialysis. Though there is evidence for production of oxygen free radicals during haemodialysis, reports on net oxidative imbalance due to a single dialysis session are conflicting. Hence, a time-course analysis of changes in lipid peroxides (LPO) along with antioxidant enzymes and vitamins was carried out. Hourly changes in LPO and antioxidants were studied during a first-use cuprophan membrane and acetate dialysis in 20 patients on regular haemodialysis treatment. Data were corrected for haemoconcentration and standardised to measure the rate of change before statistical evaluation using analysis of variance for repeated measures. The results of the study showed a net oxidative stress due to a single dialysis session in the form of increased plasma and erythrocyte lipid peroxidation, decrease in plasma vitamin E, slight increase in plasma superoxide dismutase and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase and no change in plasma glutathione peroxidase, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase and plasma vitamin A levels. The oxygen radical production was found to be maximum in the first hour of dialysis.