Ozonated autohemotherapy in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: influence on lipid profile and endothelium

Ozonated autohemotherapy (O3-AHT) is used in the treatment of atherosclerotic ischemia of lower limbs (AILL). The impact of ozone on serum lipids and endothelium injury is of particular interest since these factors are important in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. To evaluate this issue, a prospective, placebo-controlled study was designed. Twelve hemodialyzed subjects with AILL received autohemotherapy with oxygen as a control followed by O3-AHT with ozone concentration of 50 micro g/ml. Serum lipids and plasma activity of von Willebrand factor (vWF) were measured. After O3-AHT, total cholesterol significantly decreased compared to the baseline (-8.34%) [P < 0.01]. LDL cholesterol was also significantly lower than the initial value (-17.71%) [P < 0.001]. No significant changes in the activity of vWF were found after the first session of O3-AHT and after all nine sessions of O3-AHT. The study demonstrated that O3-AHT did not affect deleteriously the endothelium in patients with chronic renal failure on maintenance hemodialysis. It may stimulate beneficial changes in serum lipid profile manifesting as a decrease in the total- and LDL-cholesterol levels.