Lipid abnormalities in chronic renal failure patients undergoing hemodialysis

Lipid abnormalities are common in patients with renal disease, probably contributing to the high incidence of cardiovascular diseases in this population. In this study we determined the plasma and erythrocyte lipid profile in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) along 30 months under hemodialysis. In the same patients the influence of cuprophane and polysulfone dialysis membranes on the fatty acid pattern of plasma and erythrocytes, before and after dialysis, was also studied. Fluidity in erythrocyte membranes was also assessed by diphenylhexatriene (DPH) fluorescence polarization measurements. Triglyceride levels were increased in the plasma and in erythrocyte membranes of CRF patients compared to healthy subjects. Plasma polyunsaturared fatty acids decreased whereas palmitic and monounsaturated acids increased in CRF patients. No changes were observed in either the fatty acid profile or DPH fluorescence anisotropy of erythrocyte membranes. The lipid composition abnormalities persisted after 18 months and they became more notorious after 30 months. Neither the plasma nor the erythrocyte membrane lipid pattern changed in CRF patients during the dialysis session, regardless of the dialysis membrane used. We conclude that CRF patients under regular hemodialysis evidence a gradual deterioration in the fatty acid and triglyceride abnormalities, a finding that might be relevant to the risk of cardiovascular disease in this setting.