A clinical and neurophysiological study was carried out in a group of dialyzed patients suffering from uremic neuropathy in order to determine whether the use of different dialysis membranes can influence their clinical and neurophysiological parameters. The patients were divided into two groups: one group was dialyzed with Cuprophan (CUP) the other with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes. Comparison of the two groups showed that the PAN membrane was more effective than the CUP membrane, both at the clinical and at the neurophysiological (nerve conduction velocity) levels. The patients who used the PAN membrane were also found to have lower blood PTH and magnesium levels. This difference was statistically significant. These preliminary results seem to confirm the hypothesis of the neurotoxicity of middle molecules in uremic neuropathy.
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