INTRODUCTION: Chronic renal patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment have cardiovascular atherosclerotic disease as the main cause of death. Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction are directly associated with atherosclerosis. Furthermore, the infection resulting from hepatitis C virus, common among such patients, would be another worsening factor of the inflammatory state. Increased levels of endothelial dysfunction markers are found in chronic renal disease and hepatitis C, which could be important markers of atherosclerosis among these subjects. OBJECTIVE: To compare endothelial activity in patients undergoing hemodialysis with and without hepatitis C. METHODOLOGY: We selected 28 patients undergoing hemodialysis and classified them into two groups: 1-HCV(+): 18 patients (anti-HCV[+] and PCR[+]) and 2-HCV(-): 10 patients (anti-HCV[-]). Before the first weekly dialysis, blood samples from both groups were collected for ICAM-1, VEGF, ALT and TAP serum dosage. RESULTS: ICAM-1 levels were high in 60.71%. The highest levels were found in HCV(+) group, though not statistically significant (p = 0.2024). There was no correlation between ICAM-1 levels and the hemodialysis time or ALT levels in any group. On the other hand, VEGF levels were normal in 92.85%. Only two patients HCV(+) had high levels. There was also no correlation between VEGF levels and the dialysis time or ALT levels. CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing hemodialysis have high endothelial lesion, nevertheless, the presence of HCV chronic infection did not prove to be an aggravating factor. This result may be due to the small number of patients, hence further analyses with a larger sample are required for definitive conclusions.
Hemodialysis; Hepatitis C.; ICAM-1; VEGF
