Interaction of vascular and bone disease in patients with normal renal function and patients undergoing dialysis

The cardiovascular risk of patients undergoing dialysis is 20-30 times higher than that of individuals of the same age, without abnormal renal function, from the general population. Observational studies of patients with normal and abnormal renal function have shown that there is an association between bone disease, vascular calcification and cardiovascular outcome and that worsening of these conditions happens in parallel. Basic science studies are elucidating several mechanisms that could explain the interaction between bone disease, vascular calcification and cardiovascular outcome. For example, the expression of osteoprotegerin-a protein that regulates bone resorption by binding receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB (RANK) ligand (RANKL), thus preventing interaction with the receptor RANK and the stimulation of osteoclast maturation-is regulated by several cytokines. Additionally, osteoprotegerin seems involved in the genesis of atherosclerosis. Imbalances of bone mineral metabolism, bone matrix secretion and vascular smooth-muscle-cell apoptosis seem involved in the ossification of the arterial wall in chronic kidney disease, and could explain some of the complex interactions between bone and vascular disease in renal failure. In this article we present a brief review of some of the basic mechanisms involved in vascular calcification and the clinical evidence of an association of vascular and bone disease.