[Clinical experience in HFR with a new resin-only sorbent cartridge].

Adsorbent therapies have become increasingly popular over the last several years as they permit an additional method to selectively or non-selectively remove toxins. Adsorbents offer a unique removal strategy as they have an extremely high adsorption capacity due to their great surface area. This paper describes experiments that utilized a synthetic divinylbenzene styrenic resin cartridge to remove uremic toxins from chronic renal failure patients.

Von Willebrand factor and autoantibodies against oxidized LDL in hemodialysis patients treated with vitamin E-modified dialyzers.

Oxidant stress is a well known cause of damage in the atherosclerotic process. Vitamin E is one of the most promising natural antioxidants. In this study we investigated if a vitamin E-coated dialyzer was able to reduce the plasma levels of auto-antibodies against oxidized-LDL, von Willebrand factor (vWf) and thrombomodulin (TM) as markers of endothelial damage.

Effects of a vitamin E-bonded membrane and of glutathione on anemia and erythropoietin requirements in hemodialysis patients.

Background: The oxidative damage of RBC membranes in hemodialysis (HD) patients increases red blood cell (RBC) susceptibility to hemolysis and impairs cell survival. Reduction of the oxidative stress might lead to better control of anemia and reduction of the erythropoietin (rhEPO) dose.

Methods: We studied 38 stable HD patients, given a mean dose of rhEPO of 104+/-65 U/kg BW/week, at baseline and during antioxidant treatment with either a full or a 50% dose of EPO.

Effects of erythropoietin and vitamin E-modified membrane on plasma oxidative stress markers and anemia of hemodialyzed patients.

Background: Oxidant stress has a pathogenic role in uremic anemia, possibly interfering with erythropoietin (EPO) function and red blood cell (RBC) survival. Therefore, it is expected that antioxidant therapy might exert a beneficial effect on these parameters.

Methods: To test this hypothesis, we investigated some oxidant stress indices, anemia levels, and RBC survival in 47 hemodialysis (HD) patients randomly assigned to three groups.

Blood volume controlled hemodialysis in hypotension-prone patients: a randomized, multicenter controlled trial.

Background: Recently we have devised and tested a biofeedback system for controlling blood volume (BV) changes during hemodialysis (HD) along an ideal trajectory (blood volume tracking, BVT), continuously modifying the weight loss rate and dialysate conductivity. This multicenter, prospective, randomized, crossover study aimed to clarify whether BVT (treatment B) can improve hypotension-prone patients' treatment tolerance, compared with conventional hemodialysis (treatment A).

Methods: Thirty-six hypotension-prone patients enrolled from 10 hemodialysis (HD) centers were randomly assigned to either of the study sequences ABAB or BABA, each lasting four months.