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Introduction: The main cause of death in hemodialysis patients is cardiovascular diseases. Increased arterial stiffness is a predictor of cardiovascular events for hemodialysis patients. Among the nondialysis patient population, arterial stiffness increases in those with hepatic fibrosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This study aims to examine the relationship between hepatic fibrosis and arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients for the first time in the literature. Material and method: The study includes chronic hemodialysis patients over 18 years of age who had been treated for hemodialysis for at least 6 months. Patients with chronic liver disease, chronic viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV), alcohol use, or liver disease accompanied by polycystic kidney disease and active infection were excluded. Hepatic fibrosis scores were measured using the FibroScan device. Single‐cuff Mobil‐o‐Graph was used for measurement of arterial stiffness. Results: Fifty‐nine patients were enrolled; 54.2% of the patients were male, and the mean age was 53.9 ± 12.9 years. Thirty‐nine percent of the patients had diabetes. Average pulse wave velocity (PWV) value of the patients was 8.3 ± 1.6 m/s, and it had positive correlation with age, CAP score, fibrosis score, and body mass index and showed negative correlation to albumin. It was seen that the patients with a PWV value ≥ 10 m/s have significantly higher CAP score compared with the patients with a PWV < 10 m/s. When the factors predicting PWV were examined in the regression analysis, age and systolic blood pressure were found to be determinants. Conclusion: Increased hepatic fibrosis in hemodialysis patients is associated with increased arterial stiffness, but this relationship is not independent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been demonstrated that NT‐proBNP and macrophage inhibitor cytokine‐1 (MIC‐1/GDF‐15) are associated with cognitive functions in patients without renal disease. In the present study, we examined the association of these two molecules with cognitive functions in hemodialysis patients for the first time in the literature. A total of 94 patients were enrolled. The Mini‐Mental Test and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test (MoCA) were applied for the purpose of measuring the cognitive functions. The NT‐proBNP and MIC‐1/GDF‐15 levels were examined with the ELISA. The mean age of the patients was 48 ± 12; 58 (61.7%) of them were male and 21.3% were diabetic. We found that in 77% of patients have impaired cognitive functions (MoCA total score <24). The NT‐proBNP level had a significant and negative correlation with the MoCA Test Delayed Recall and Total Score. When the patients were divided into two groups according to NT‐proBNP levels (above 10.500 and below), it was observed that the Mini‐Mental Test Record Memory, MoCA Test Delayed Recall, and MoCA test total scores were significantly different from each other. In the present study, we show, for the first time in the literature, that NT‐proBNP levels are associated with cognitive functions in dialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is associated with high cardiovascular disease burden in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Vasohibin-1, an endothelium-derived angiogenesis inhibitor, is essential for endothelial cell survival, therefore it may be a promising marker of ED. We aimed to investigate whether vasohibin-1 levels are associated with ED markers in HD patients.Methods: Fifty HD patients and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. As markers of ED, endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were examined. Serum vasohibin-1 levels were measured with ELISA.Results: Serum vasohibin-1 levels were low (387.7 ± 115.7 vs 450.1 ± 140.1 P = .02), FMDs' were impaired (6.65 ± 2.50 vs 10.95 ± 2.86 P < .001), PWV (7.92 ± 1.964 vs 6.79 ± 0.96 P = .01) and CIMT (0.95 ± 0.20 vs 0.60 ± 0.11 P < .001) were increased in HD patients compared to healthy controls. In regression analysis, vasohibin-1 levels were not related with FMD, PWV, or CIMT.Conclusions: Hemodialysis patients have low serum vasohibin-1 levels but serum levels of vasohibin-1 did not show any significant relationship with FMD, PWV, and CIMT in HD patients. Since vasohibin-1 acts via paracrine pathways, serum levels may be insufficient to explain the relationship between vasohibin and ED. Local vasohibin-1 activity on tissue level may be more important instead of circulating levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With newer and cheaper antiviral regimens, we could be treating all patients with CKD and HCV infection in the future and we might have a chance to eradicate HCV infection from HD units if we do not neglect safety precautions. Keywords: chronic kidney disease; direct acting antiviral agents; hemodialysis; Hepatitis C virus EN chronic kidney disease direct acting antiviral agents hemodialysis Hepatitis C virus 87 89 3 06/05/21 20210501 NES 210501 Dear editor, Treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not a big issue nowadays, thanks to the new generation direct acting antiviral (DAA) agents that provide remarkable response rates along with very few side effects. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: To evaluate cisterna chyli (CC) diameter with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Materials and Methods: The study included 71 patients with CKD and 68 healthy controls. In both groups, the largest transverse diameter of CC was measured in axial heavily T2 -weighted images using a 1.5T MRI. The diameter of the CC in the CKD patients and control group were compared, and the correlations between the CKD, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and stage of CKD were investigated. The CC diameters were compared between/among groups with independent sample t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed for CC diameter to determine the effectiveness of various cutoff points for the presence of CKD. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine correlation between CC diameter and GFR. Multivariate logistic regression models were implemented in order to examine to determine relation among selected variables and study group.Results: The average CC diameter was 5.68 ± 2.55 mm in the CKD group, and 3.18 ± 2.24 mm in control group (P < 0.001). The CC diameter showed an increase with more severe stages of the disease (P < 0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between CC diameter and GFR (r -0.447, P < 0.001). Based on multivariate analysis, it was determined that the only factor associated with severity of disease was CC diameter (odds ratio: 1.636, 95% confidence interval: 1.314-2.037, P < 0.0001). Based on ROC analysis, the optimal CC diameter cutoff value for detecting CKD was 4.5 mm, with sensitivity and specificity values of 0.704 and 0.824, respectively.Conclusion: CC diameter is observed to be larger in patients with CKD than in the normal population. Additionally, CC diameter increased with more severe stages of CKD. According to our results, CC diameter might be used as an MRI marker to indicate the presence and severity of CKD. J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2016;44:890-896. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]