Retinol and α—Tocopherol in hemodialysis patients

The biological effects of reactive oxygen species and other radicals controlled by antioxidant mechanisms are modified by various enzymes and other substrates. Antioxidant substrates are divided into those with lipophilic and hydrophilic groups. Retinol and tocopherol are the main representations of lipophilic antioxidants. The aim of the present study was to describe the changes of retinol and α-tocopherol which occurred in hemodialysis (HD) patients in respect to the influence of antioxidant systems. The experimental group consisted of 14 patients on regular HD treatment. The control group consisted of 14 healthy blood donors. HPLC was used to measure retinol and α-tocopherol in serum.We found that the retinol concentration was significantly higher in HD patients compared to controls (2.35± 0.95 versus 0.90± 0.23 mg/L, p < 0.0001). The concentration of α-tocopherol in serum was not different in both study groups (7.32± 3.01 versus. 8.94± 3.57 mg/L). A review of the MEDLINE database since 1985 found a fe...