1. Benefits of anaemia treatment on cognitive function
- Author
-
John C. Stivelman
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Neuropsychological Tests ,Electroencephalography ,Hematocrit ,Cognition ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Dialysis ,Uremia ,Transplantation ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Neuropsychology ,Anemia ,Neuropsychological test ,medicine.disease ,Endocrinology ,Nephrology ,Erythropoietin ,Cardiology ,Kidney Failure, Chronic ,Hemodialysis ,Cognition Disorders ,business ,medicine.drug ,Kidney disease - Abstract
The role of anaemia in the pathogenesis of abnormal cognitive function in haemodialysis patients is only partly understood. Several contemporary studies have assessed cognitive function in haemodialysis patients using neuropsychological and neurophysiological tests, comparing the results obtained over a wide range of haematocrits before and after treatment with epoetin. Of the neurophysiological tests, which measure electrical impulses from the brain in the presence or absence of specific stimuli, the cognitive event-related potential (ERP) has been particularly useful in evaluating this issue. Changes in amplitude (increase) and latency (decrease) of a specific wave form (P300) seen in the ERP correlate with improved cognitive function in haemodialysis patients following initiation of dialysis therapy. Similar effects are also evident when haematocrit is increased. Marsh et al. (Kidney Int 1991; 39: 155- 163) examined the effect of increasing haematocrit with epoetin therapy on the P300 amplitude and latency, and noted that after increasing haematocrit to 23.7-36% over 12 months with epoetin, P300 amplitude increased (P
- Published
- 2000
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