Abstract
Homocysteine is one of the cardiovascular risk factors in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Studies were performed to assess the effects of folic acid on pulse wave velocity (PWV) in HD patients. In a cross-sectional study, plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) was measured in 49 patients on maintenance HD. Ten HD patients younger than 45 years old entered the prospective study. Monthly changes in PWV were compared before and during folic acid treatment. Younger HD patients had higher tHcy (r = -0.53, n = 49, P < .001). Patients who manifested myocardial ischemia (37 +/- 3 nmol/mL) possessed higher tHcy than those who did not (30 +/- 3 nmol/mL, P < .05). In prospective study, folic acid treatment (10 to 20 mg/d) failed to alter blood pressure and biochemical parameters, including lipids, calcium, phosphate, and parathormone. However, in association with a decrease in tHcy (46 +/- 5 to 27 +/- 3 nmol/mL, n = 10, P < .005), progressive increases in PWV (33 +/- 8 to 3 +/- 6 cm/sec/month, P < .01) were stopped. The present findings indicate that young HD patients are exposed to severe hyperhomocysteinemia, and suggest that relatively large doses of folic acid attenuate progressive increases in PWV of young or middle-age HD patients.
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