EVALUATION OF ISCHEMIA MODIFIED ALBUMIN IN HEPATITIS C POSITIVE HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS : A PILOT STUDY

Background: Chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients are more prone for infection such as Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, which may be associated with increased oxidative stress (OS). Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels rises not only during ischemia but also during chronic OS. Hence the study was aimed to evaluate the levels of IMA and its association with oxidative stress in HCV positive HD patients. Methods: Twenty two HCV positive [HCV (+)], 22 HCV negative [HCV (-)] patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance HD and 22 healthy subjects were enrolled in this cross-sectional observational study. Plasma IMA was determined by spectrophotometric Co (II) - albumin binding assay. Plasma MDA was determined by spectrophotometric method. Results: Both MDA and IMA levels were significantly higher in HCV (+) and HCV (-) HD patients compared to controls (p < 0.001). A significant increase in MDA levels was observed in HCV (+) HD patients when compared with HCV (-) HD patients (p<0.001); however no change in IMA levels were noted between HCV (+) and HCV (-) HD patients. A negative correlation was observed between IMA and MDA levels in both HCV (+) (r= - 0.278, p=0.178) and HCV (-) HD patients (r= - 0.193, p=0.354) which were however not statistically significant. Conclusion: Plasma IMA and MDA levels were elevated in both groups of HD patients when compared to controls. However, hepatitis C infection does not appear to cause any additional increase of IMA levels in HD patients