Hypoalbuminemia accelerates erythrocyte membrane lipid peroxidation in chronic hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND: Persistent hypoalbuminemia is a long-term poor prognostic factor in chronic hemodialysis patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated the correlation between the degree of peroxidation of erythrocyte membrane lipids, erythrocyte alpha tocopherol content, erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity and serum albumin concentration in twelve patients with uremia not undergoing hemodialysis and fifteen patients on maintenance hemodialysis. RESULTS: The glutathione peroxidase activity in erythrocytes was higher in patients of uremia not undergoing hemodialysis than in chronic hemodialysis patients. A significant negative correlation was observed between the erythrocyte alpha tocopherol content and the degree of erythrocyte membrane lipid peroxidation in chronic hemodialysis patients. There was a statistically significant difference in the degree of erythrocyte membrane lipid peroxidation between patients with chronic hemodialysis-associated hypoalbuminemia and chronic hemodialysis patients having normal serum albumin levels. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that serum albumin inhibits peroxidation of erythrocyte membrane lipids and that hemodialysis induces recovery of serum reductivity. We conclude that persistent hypoalbuminemia worsens the serum antioxidant activity in chronic hemodialysis patients and may contribute to increased oxidative cell damage.