Since oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is more atherogenic than native LDL, LDL oxidation was investigated in uremic patients who often develop accelerated atherogenesis. Three groups of uremic patients were studied (10 on predialysis conservative therapy, 11 on repetitive hemodialysis, 13 on peritoneal dialysis) and compared with seventy matched controls. LDL oxidation was evaluated in all patients as: (i) the susceptibility to in vitro oxidation (by measuring the resistance to Cu(++)-induced formation of conjugated dienes), (ii) vitamin E concentration in LDL, and (iii) presence of plasma anti-oxidized LDL antibodies, expressed as the ratio anti-oxLDL/anti-nativeLDL antibodies. The lipid profile was studied in all patients. Vitamin E concentration did not differ between the various groups, although LDL from uremic patients appeared more susceptible to in vitro and in vivo oxidation (as demonstrated by an earlier generation of conjugated dienes and by the presence of an higher antibody ratio) compared to control subjects. Subclass analysis of the different patients revealed that peritoneal dialysis treatment ameliorated the oxidation markers. However, a prolonged dialytic treatment caused a decrease in vitamin E concentration in LDL and increased their susceptibility to oxidation.

Purpose Follow-up of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) has been improved by data transmission by cellular modem and internet cloud. With the new remote patient monitoring (RPM) technology, clinical control and prescription of dialysis are performed by software (Baxter Claria-Sharesource), which allows the center to access home operational data. The objective of this pilot study was to determine the impact of RPM compared to traditional technology, in clinical, organizational, social, and economic terms in a single center. Methods We studied 21 prevalent APD patients aged 69 ± 13 years, on dialysis for a median of 9 months, for a period of 6 months with the traditional technology and 6 months with the new technology. A relevant portion of patients lived in mountainous or hilly areas. ResultsOur study shows more proactive calls from the center to patients after the consultation of RPM software, reduction of calls from patients and caregivers, early detection of clinical problems, a significant reduction of unscheduled visits, and a not significant reduction of hospitalizations. The analysis also highlighted how the RPM system lead to relevant economic savings, which for the health system have been calculated € 335 (mean per patient-month). With the social costs represented by the waste of time of the patient and the caregiver, we calculated € 685 (mean per patient-month). Conclusion In our pilot report, the RPM system allowed the accurate assessment of daily APD sessions to suggest significative organizational and economic advantages, and both patients and healthcare providers reported good subjective experiences in terms of safety and quality of follow-up.

The acute effects on parathyroid gland activity of repetitive hemodialysis with a dialysate calcium concentration of between 3.5 and 4 mEq/l were evaluated in 21 hemodialysis patients on calcitriol therapy for 1 year or more. In this study circulating immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were measured using radioimmunoassay specific for C-terminal iPTH (C-PTH), middle molecule iPTH (MM-PTH) and intact iPTH (I-PTH), before the dialysis session at the end of the week (I), after 4 h regular hemodialysis (II) and after a further 72 h (III). C-PTH was abnormally high (202 ± 64 pmol/l) (I) in 18 patients with no documented parathyroid hyperplasia and showed no significant difference in subsequent controls. MM-PTH was also high (379 ± 125.5 pmol/l) (I), but decreased to 348 ± 136.7 (II) (p < 0.05) and returned to predialysis levels (III). I-PTH (I) was 8.2 + 5.3 pmol/l (normal levels in 8 patients), fell to 3.4 ± 2.6 pmol/l (II) (p < 0.01l), and increased (p < 0.01l) with respect to the basal levels of 11.1 ± 7.5 pmol/l (III). Three patients presented echographically documentable parathyroid hyperplasia and, despite constantly high iPTH levels, showed a similar I-PTH behavior while MM-PTH and C-PTH revealed no constant pattern. The decrease in iPTH levels was accompanied by a significant increase in total calcium and ionized calcium during the hemodialysis session. No significant changes in iCa and Ca together with I-PTH levels were found in 4 volunteers before and after the hemodialysis session with dialysate calcium 2.75 mEq/l. We conclude that I-PTH assay has been shown to capture acute changes in parathyroid gland activity in hemodialyzed patients for both low and high iPTH levels. High calcium dialysate hemodialysis inhibits acutely intradialytic PTH secretion but the effect is just temporary and the 72-hour interdialytic period, despite vitamin D therapy, stimulates parathyroid secretion significantly. Nevertheless, I-PTH fluctuations occur in some patients within the normal range, and high dialysate and calcitriol therapy seem to be capable of controlling parathyroid activity; as regards the remaining population, we suggest that a personalized therapeutic approach should be studied with a view to achieving a better control of interdialytic calcium homeostasis.