[Electrophysiologic follow-up (brainstem acoustic evoked potentials and visual evoked potentials) in chronic uremic...

The aim of our study was to evaluate the possibility of recording also sub-clinical alterations of the Central Nervous System during chronic uremia by means of the study of Pattern-Reversal Visual Evoked Potentials (P-R V.E.Ps) and Brainstem Acoustic Evoked Potentials (B.A.E.Ps), to study their behaviour in answer to different kinds of treatment and follow their possible modifications during the time. With this purpose the uremic patients were divided into therapeutic groups: only dietetic and pharmacological treatment, conventional hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, peritoneal dialysis and well functioning kidney transplant. A first record of Evoked Potentials was made in 1985 and the values were compared with those obtained by an homogeneous control group. The same patients were evaluated 3 years later and the two records results were compared. In both cases the most important percentage of altered values were found in the group under only dietetic and pharmacological treatment, the less important in the transplanted patients and these data were stable at the follow-up. So that Evoked Potentials are a good test in chronic uremia and the best therapy able to hinder the alterations of Central Nervous System arising during chronic renal failure would seen to be kidney transplant.