[Lipoprotein Lp(a) in patients with chronic renal insufficiency on hemodialysis].

An increased concentration of lipoprotein Lp(a) is considered a risk factor for coronary artery disease. In the present study, the plasma levels of Lp(a), total cholesterol, cholesterol bound to high density lipoproteins (C-HDL), and triglycerides (TG) were measured in 50 patients with chronic renal failure treated with hemodialysis (HD). The results were compared with those from a control group constituted by 46 individuals. Hypertriglyceridemia was detected in 34% of the HD patients and in none of the controls (p less than 0.001); also, a significant reduction of C-HDL level was found in the HD group as compared with controls (p less than 0.001). These two results are in agreement with previously reported data. The outstanding result of our study was the higher prevalence of positive Lp(a) (greater than 30 mg/dl) in the HD group as compared with controls (p less than 0.05). As the increase in Lp(a) is a risk factor for coronary artery disease, we suggest that its measurement may be helpful to delineate the serum lipid profile of these patients.