Oxidative stress and δ-ALA-D activity in chronic renal failure patients

In this paper, we studied the influence of uremia and hemodialysis on oxidative parameters and δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) activity in control subjects, patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) on hemodialysis treatment (HD) and in patients not undergoing hemodialysis (ND). An increased lipid peroxidation was observed in the serum of HD and ND patients, as measured by the MDA serum levels. However, the level of MDA from erythrocytes was only elevated in HD patients. Blood catalase activity was increased in HD and ND groups. This study also showed a decreased activity of blood δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) in both groups of patients. This study demonstrated a positive correlation between ALA-D activity and hemoglobin, suggesting that inhibition of this enzyme might enhance anemia in CRF. A negative correlation was found between the alteration in δ-ALA-D activity and oxidative stress, which may indicate that the inhibition of ALA-D can be used as an index of oxidative stress.