Red cell lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in haemodialysed patients: influence of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) treatment.

In order to determine the role of correcting anaemia with r-HuEPO on susceptibility of red cell to lipid peroxidation, 15 patients on maintenance haemodialysis treated with r-HuEPO for at least one year (group I), 15 patients on maintenance haemodialysis without r-HuEPO (group II) and 30 persons as a control group (group III) were included in the study. We measured erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (e-SOD), erythrocyte catalase (e-CAT) activities, plasma malonyldialdehyde (p-MDA) and serum vitamin E levels in all patients. The healthy controls (group III) had significantly lower levels of p-MDA in comparison to those measured in haemodialysed patients (group I-II) (p < 0.0001). e-SOD activity in group III was significantly higher than in groups I and II, respectively (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.00001), and e-SOD activity was significantly lower in group II than in group I (p < 0.0001). e-CAT activity in group III was higher than in groups I and II, respectively (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.00001) and it was significantly lower in group II than in group I (p < 0.0001). Vitamin E concentration in group III was lower than in group I and group II, respectively (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001). But there is no difference between groups I and II. This study suggests that r-HuEPO therapy improves anaemia by decreasing lipid peroxidation and increasing antioxidant activity.