Background: In India, there is rising burden of chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. It has been estimated that 25-40% of these patients are likely to develop CKD, with a significant percentage requiring renal replacement therapy. Haemodialysis is the most common method which is used to treat advanced and permanent kidney failure. The derangements in the metabolism of several toxic and trace elements such as antimony, arsenic, cadmium, molybdenum, nickel, and selenium have been reported for several decades in patients with chronically reduced renal function. Overall, the available literature suggests that the blood levels of some elements such as cadmium, chromium, fluorine, iodine, lead and vanadium are high in ESRD. Aim and Objectives:Our aim was to study the levels of blood lead in the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients who were on Maintenance Haemodialysis (MHD), and to study whether there was any relationship between the blood lead concentration and the duration of MHD. Methods:The blood lead level was determined in 50 healthy subjects with normal renal function and in 50 patients with ESRD who were on MHD. None of them had a history of smoking or any industrial exposure. Results:The results of this study revealed that the blood lead level was higher in the ESRD patients who were on MHD than in the healthy adults. The blood lead concentration was found to increase with the duration of the MHD.

Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) is a global threat to health, particularly for developing countries. Every year about 17 million of the world population die of cardiovascular disease. The activity of the enzyme xanthine oxidase and the oxidative stress level is reflected by the levels of serum uric acid. Uric acid, an independent marker in populations with AMI has been shown to reflect the short and long term adverse cardiac outcomes. Elevated uric acid levels are associated with reduced glomerular filtration rate, hypertension, arterial stiffness, cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. There exists a five to six-fold rise in uric acid concentration in atherosclerotic patients. The mortality index in patients with cardiovascular disease can be predicted by high uric acid levels. The aim of our study was to correlate the increased uric acid levels with the severity and prognosis in myocardial infarction patients. Our study included 55 patients with AMI, including both ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), in whom serum uric acid was measured. The results were analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) software. A statistically significant (p <0.001) increase in the serum uric acid levels were noted in the patients diagnosed with Myocardial Infarction (MI). The increase in uric acid levels helps to predict mortality in acute MI patients.

No abstract