Homocysteine in chronic renal failure in relation to renal anemia and to oxidative stress parameters 4-hydroxynonenal and malondialdehyde

Homocysteine serum levels were measured in patients with end-stage renal disease in relation to severity of renal anemia and oxidative stress parameters such as 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) and malondialdehyde (MDA). The predialytic homocysteine serum levels of the patients are five times as high as in healthy controls. It was found that homocysteine does not correlate to hemoglobin concentration and to oxidative stress, but rather to parameters of nutrition status such as albumine concentration and protein catabolic rate. The homocysteine accumulation represents a cardiovascular risk factor which is statistically independent of oxidative stress, but dependent on nutrition or energy status in patients with chronic renal failure.