Noninvasive skin measurements to monitor chronic renal failure pathogenesis

Cutaneous manifestations are common in hemodialysis (HD) patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Associated with uremia, pruritus is a frequently observed symptom in CRF patients and increases with deteriorating renal function. Skin hydrophilic biomarkers (SHB) may be altered in CRF compared to healthy controls.

A noninvasive skin wash sampling technique to detect the expression of SHB, by measuring their secretion on skin surface, was used on HD patients and healthy controls. Hydrophilic antioxidants such as total antioxidant scavenging capacity (TSC) and uric acid (UA) content, and cytokine inflammatory biomarkers such as TNFα and IL-10 levels were estimated.

Our findings demonstrate significant alterations of the SHB level between HD patients and healthy volunteers. Furthermore, such alterations of secreted SHB correlated markedly with detected changes in blood biochemistry and dermatology severity score.

Skin wash sampling of SHB is a noninvasive technique that distinguishes between HD patients and healthy controls. In HD patients, SHB is associated with biochemical markers in blood and dermatologic symptom severity. This technique is also suggested, as a monitoring tool for diagnosis and treatments of various diseases, in which skin dysfunction is involved.