December 14, 2002 - The January issue of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (NDT) contains two studies related to inflammation and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients:

• "Homocysteine, C-reactive protein, lipid peroxidation and mortality in haemodialysis patients" - abstract from NDT
  
  
  
• "Carotid atherosclerosis is associated with inflammation and endothelial cell adhesion molecules in chronic haemodialysis patients" - abstract from NDT

November 22, 2002 - An article in this week's issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) provides evidence of a causal association between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease. Meta-analyses show that a mutation in the MTHFR gene, which reduces folate metabolism, significantly increases cardiovascular risk. The authors report that consuming 0.8 mg of folic acid could decrease serum homocysteine, reducing the risk of ischaemic heart disease by 16%, deep vein thrombosis by 25%, and stroke by 24%.

"Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease: evidence on causality from a meta-analysis" - Full-text article from BMJ.

January 22, 2002 - Here are several more recent papers on inflammation and dialysis:

"Role of Inflammation and Its Treatment in ESRD Patients" - abstract from Blood Purification. (link is no longer available)

"Epidemiology of Vascular Disease in Renal Failure" - abstract from Blood Purification. (link is no longer available)

"Importance of Periodontal Disease in the Kidney Patient" - abstract from Blood Purification. (link is no longer available)

"Relevance of C-reactive protein levels in peritoneal dialysis patients" - abstract from KI (Kidney International)

January 11, 2002 - Here are the most recent scientific articles on inflammation and dialysis:

"Water Treatment: Chronic Inflammatory Disease Related to Water Purity in Dialysis Treatments" - full-text article from CDN/iKidney. (link is no longer available)

"A Malnutrition-Inflammation Score is correlated with morbidity and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients" - full-text article from AJKD

"Can the future of hemodialysis patients be predicted?" - editorial from AJKD

October 1, 2001 - Here are the most recent scientific articles on inflammation and dialysis:

"Biocompatibility of Hemodialysis Membranes: Interrelations between Plasma Complement and Cytokine Levels" - abstract from Blood Purification. (link is no longer available)

"Blood Components Influence Cytokine Induction by Bacterial Substances" - abstract from Blood Purification. (link is no longer available)

National Library of Medicine PubMED search for chronic inflammatory response and dialysis

RenalWEB Topic Page on Inflammation: The Silent Problem of ESRD.

August 28, 2001 - The September issue of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (NDT) has several articles related to inflammation:

"Dialysis improves endothelial function in humans" - abstract from NDT

"Production of monokines in patients under polysulphone haemodiafiltration is influenced by the ultrafiltration flow rate" - abstract from NDT

"High blood soluble receptor p80 for tumour necrosis factor-x is associated with erythropoietin resistance in haemodialysis patients" - abstract from NDT

"Effects of ultrapure dialysis fluid on nutritional status and inflammatory parameters" - abstract from NDT

August 24, 2001 - There have been a number of new studies and articles on the relationship between inflammation and cardiovascular disease in the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patient population. This is a growing area of concern, as cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with ESRD.

"Cardiovascular Disease in ESRD: Focus on Nutrition" by Chuck Balzer, MS RD, from Contemporary Dialysis & Nephrology on the iKidney web site. This article provides a brief overview of oxidative stress, antioxidant therapy, and homocysteine levels. (link is no longer available)

"Association of Inflammation and Malnutrition with Cardiac Valve Calcification in Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Patients" - abstract from September 2001 JASN (Journal of the American Socieity of Nephrology).

"Reduction of the Homocysteine Plasma Concentration by Intravenously Administered Folinic Acid and Vitamin B12 in Uraemic Patients on Maintenance Haemodialysis" - abstract from the American Journal of Nephrology(Aug 01). (link is no longer available)

"Cost-effectiveness of Vitamin Therapy to Lower Plasma Homocysteine Levels for the Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease" - abstract from Aug 22/29 JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).

RenalWEB has a Topic page dedicated to Inflammation and ESRD.


[This message has been edited by Gary Peterson (edited 03-25-2003).]