[Changes in the lipid content of erythrocytes in patients with chronic renal failure]

The oxidative stress accompanying chronic renal failure may cause a number of harmful changes in the organism of a human being. Hemodialysis, as one of the treatment methods of chronic renal failure, increases the oxidative stress, whose destructive activity is among other things manifested by changes in the lipid profile of the membranes of erythrocytes (RBC). Disturbances in the decomposition of membrane phospholipids are the causes of a lowered viability of red blood cells and an increased oligocytosis among hemodialysed patients. So far, reports do not, however, explain in a complex way the mechanism of how reactive oxygen species affect the functioning and the lipid profile of the cell membranes of erythrocytes. Besides, studies devoted to the mentioned problem provide contradictory results. It is being searched for new ways of decreasing the effects of the oxidative stress among patients with chronic illnesses in which free radicals are at the basis. One of the most frequently used methods of dialysis therapy is the usage of polysulfone membranes which to a great degree decrease the unwanted effects of hemodialysis. The information included in this work refer to data describing the effect of the oxidative stress in chronic renal failure, hemodialysis and preventive ways of decreasing the negative effects of an increased action of reactive oxygen species.