Last update:
   18-Dec-2014
 

Arch Hellen Med, 31(6), November-December 2014, 693-701

ORIGINAL PAPER

The effect of N-acetylcysteine on the serum levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine
and nitrogen oxide in patients on hemodialysis

I. Giannikouris,1 C. Petrichou,1 D. Perrea,2 P. Alivanis3
1Maintenance Hemodialysis Unit, Ilion Medical Center, Ilion, Attiki,
2"N.S. Christeas" Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens,
3Nephrology Clinic and Hemodialysis Unit, "Andreas Papandreou" General Hospital of Rhodes, Rhodes, Greece

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of oral administration of the antioxidant drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on the serum levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and nitrogen oxide (NO) in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

METHOD The study was conducted on 48 patients, 25 males and 23 females, aged 56.9±9.4 years, who were on maintenance hemodialysis. The patients received NAC in an oral dose of 600 mg twice daily for a study period of 6 months. Various hematological and biochemical parameters and the serum levels of ADMA and NO were determined prior to and on completion of the study period.

RESULTS The white blood cell count, the percentage of neutrophils and the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly lower, while the levels of uric acid, albumin and hemoglobin were significantly higher at the end of the study period than before treatment with NAC. In addition, statistically significant increase in NO and decrease in ADMA were observed after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS It appears that treatment with NAC is related to a favorable effect on the levels of the uremic retention molecule ADMA and the endothelial derived relaxant factor, NO, in patients on hemodialysis. Further study will be needed to confirm these findings.

Key words: Asymmetric dimethylarginine, Hemodialysis, N-acetylcysteine, Nitrogen oxide.

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