Influence of age and hemodialysis on the production of free radicals

A prospective study of 32 patients on periodic hemodialysis for at least 6 months, clinically stable and with parameters of adequate dialysis (KTV>1.2; PCR > 1) was made. Patients, all of them dialyzed with cuprophan, were divided into two groups, depending on whether they were younger or older than 65. Venous blood samples were obtained at the beginning of hemodialysis and sequentially along the dialytic session, processed immediately to determine the production of free radicals with and without stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Free radicals production increases during the period of dialysis in both groups, although in old patients reached statistically significantly higher values than in the younger group.