Corrigendum. The influence of body mass index on the accumulation of advanced glycation end products in hemodialysis patients.

Correction to: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015) 69, 309­313; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2014.261; published online 14 January 2015 Since the publication of this article, the authors have noticed that several of the author names were published incorrectly. The correct author names are listed above. The .html and online PDF versions have also been amended. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The influence of body mass index on the accumulation of advanced glycation end products in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The level of skin autofluorescence (AF) at a given moment is an independent predictor of mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Skin AF is a measure of the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of nutrition on the 1-year increase of skin AF (ΔAF) in HD patients. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 156 HD patients were enrolled in this study. Skin AF, body mass index (BMI), superoxide dismutase, myeloperoxidase, C-reactive protein, inter-cellular adhesion molecule-1, von Willebrand factor and heart-type fatty acid-binding protein were measured four times at intervals of approximately half a year. Data from the monthly routine blood analysis were also used. Daily calorie, protein and AGE intakes were assessed from food recordings over a period of 1 week. RESULTS: A J-shaped relation was found between baseline BMI and ΔAF (P=0.01). The lowest point of the J-shaped curve is found for BMI=24.3 kg/m(2). In the univariate analysis of the contributors to the 1-year ΔAF, we found that beside BMI=24.3 kg/m(2), AGE and calorie intakes, as well as myeloperoxidase and HD vintage, had a P <0.10. The sole independent predictor of the 1-year ΔAF was BMI=24.3 kg/m(2) (P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: It appears that calorie, protein and AGE intakes hardly influence the 1-year ΔAF in HD patients. BMI of HD patients of around 24 kg/m(2) resulted in a lower 1-year ΔAF.

Ultrasound predictors of compensated liver cirrhosis in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C.

Ultrasound examination was performed in 80 hemodialysis (HD) patients with chronic hepatitis C in order to determine the ultrasound predictors of compensated liver cirrhosis. The ultrasound score (US) was calculated from the morphological parameters (liver size, morphology, surface, echogenicity and spleen volume) and the hemodynamic parameters (portal vein diameter and portal vein mean flow velocity). The US ranged from 0 to 200, with a cut-off value of 66, for discrimination between absence and presence of liver cirrhosis. A logistic regression model with stepwise variable selection was used to determine predictors of the progression of liver disease. According to the calculated US, patients were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 37 (46.3%) patients with US greater than 66, indicating the presence of compensated liver cirrhosis. The second group included 43 (53.7%) patients without liver cirrhosis, with US equal to or less than 66. The value of liver morphology was significantly higher, but the portal vein flow velocity was significantly lower in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis compared with those without cirrhosis. Furthermore, rounded liver surfaces and increased liver echogenicity were significantly more frequent in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis compared with the non-compensated group. Logistic regression model with stepwise discriminant analysis identified liver morphology, liver echogenicity and portal vein mean flow velocity as independent ultrasound predictors of compensated liver cirrhosis in HD patients with chronic hepatitis C. Ultrasound examination could be used for non-invasive diagnosis of compensated liver cirrhosis, with accurate estimation of the disease severity in HD patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Aminotransferase activity as a poor predictor of liver disease progression in dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Lower aminotransferase activity in dialysis patients makes the assessment of the natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection difficult. The aim of the study was to determine the risk factors associated with the aminotransferase activity in dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C. According to the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) during the follow-up, the patients were divided in the two groups. The first group consisted of 34 chronically HCV infected patients with persistently normal levels of ALT. The second group included 46 chronically HCV infected patients with elevated levels of ALT. Genotype 1 was the dominant genotype in both groups (78 patients, 97.5%). Patients with the elevated ALT levels were characterized with a significantly shorter dialysis duration (p = 0.048) and a significantly shorter duration of HCV infection (p = 0.005) compared to the patients with persistently normal levels of ALT. The values of measured ultrasound parameters were not significantly different between the two groups. The univariate analysis identified a higher serum level of direct bilirubin (p = 0.044), shorter duration of dialysis (p=0.048), and shorter duration of HCV infection (p = 0.005) as potential predictors of elevated serum ALT levels in dialysis patients. After a stepwise logistic regression, none of the potential predictors was independently associated with the elevated ALT levels. Serum aminotransferase levels are poor predictors of liver disease progression in dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C. Further studies should be conducted in order to identify non-invasive indicators of the disease progression in uremic patients with hepatitis C (Tab. 3, Ref. 22).