Atherosclerosis in Kidney Transplant Patients May Be Reversible.Vitamin supplementation in kidney transplant patients corrects hyperhomocysteinemia, a risk factor for atherosclerosis, and can even reverse neck artery narrowing, Italian researchers reported. Maurizio Salvadori, MD from Careggi University Hospital in Tuscany, Italy presented ultrasound findings in 56 renal transplant renal transplant Transplantation of a kidney from a living donor or cadaver to a recipient with ESRD Indications–children Congenital kidney/GU tract malformations–42%; focal segmental glomerulosclerosis-12% and others; 31% of children were ≤ age 5 recipients (mean age 48) who had high homocysteine Homocysteine Definition Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in blood plasma. High levels of homocysteine in the blood are believed to increase the chance of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and osteoporosis. levels after transplantation (mean duration 44 months). Patients were randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. to a daily regimen of vitamin B6 50 mg, vitamin B12 400 [micro]g, and folic acid 5 mg or placebo and underwent carotid ultrasound at baseline and after 6 months of treatment . Vitamin therapy not only corrected hyperhomocysteinemia, it also decreased carotid artery occlusion carotid artery occlusion Subclavian steal syndrome, see there , Salvadori reported. Fasting homocysteine levels dropped from 21.8 [micro]mol/L at baseline to 9.2 [micro]mol/L after 6 months of vitamin therapy but remained unchanged in the placebo group. Similarly, carotid artery intimal intimal pertaining to or emanating from vascular intima. intimal bodies irregular mineralized masses covered by endothelium and protruding into the lumen of small arteries and arterioles of horses, especially in the intestinal media thickness dropped from 0.95 mm to 0.64 mm in the vitamin-therapy patients-a 32% decrease in wall thickness-but did not change in the patients given placebo. "There was even a trend toward increased [carotid artery wall] thickness in the placebo group," Salvadori noted. "We plan to continue follow-up of these patients out to 3 years," Salvadori said. "That way we will see if there is real clinical significance." |
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