In a pre-dialysis population, female gender, cardiovascular disease, malnutrition and inflammation are associated with a higher ESA/Hb index.

No abstract

The performance of an amperometric biosensor constructed by associating tyrosinase (Tyr) enzyme with the advantages of a 3D gold nanoelectrode ensemble (GNEE) is evaluated in a flowinjection analysis (FIA) system for the analysis of Levodopa (Ldopa). GNEEs were fabricated by electroless deposition of the metal within the pores of polycarbonate track-etched membranes. A simple solvent etching procedure based on the solubility of polycarbonate membranes is adopted for the fabrication of the 3D GNEE. Afterwards, enzyme was immobilized onto preformed self-assembled monolayers of cysteamine on the 3D GNEEs (GNEE-Tyr) via cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. The experimental conditions of the FIA system, such as the detection potential (-0.200 V (vs. Ag/ AgCl)) and flow rates (1.0 mL min -1 ) were optimized. Analytical responses for L-dopa were obtained in a wide concentration range between 1 9 10 -8 mol L -1 and 1 9 10 -2 mol L -1 . The limit of quantification was found to be 1 9 10 -8 mol L -1 with a resultant % RSD of 7.23% (n = 5). The limit of detection was found to be 1 9 10 -9 mol L -1 (S/N = 3). The common interfering compounds namely, glucose (10 mmol L -1 ), ascorbic acid (10 mmol L -1 ), and urea (10 mmol L -1 ) were studied. The recovery of L-dopa (1 9 10 -7 mol L -1 ) from spiked urine samples was found to be 96%. Therefore, the developed method is adequate to be applied in the clinical analysis.

No abstract

The increased level of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) in chronic kidney disease patients has been reported as a new and independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, after the description of reverse epidemiology in the renal population, the association of tHcy and nutrition became less clear. We evaluated the association between homocysteine, nutritional status, and inflammation, and their impact on mortality in 95 predialysis patients. High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α)], and tHcy were evaluated, as was the nutritional status by the modified Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (mSGA). We divided our population in four groups according to their tHcy and mSGA values being above or below the mean level and found the lowest survival in the group with tHcy and mSGA above the mean level, as well as higher levels of IL-6 (P = .03) and TNF-α (P = .045). Higher levels of homocysteine can be associated with higher mortality in predialysis patients, as long as they are associated with malnutrition and inflammation.