Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis reduces atherogenic and oxidative markers in uremic patients with hyperlipidemia.

Uremic patients with hyperlipidemia are classified at high atherogenic risk due to oxidative stress induced by regular hemodialysis process (hemoincompatibility) and a high level of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). This study aimed to investigate whether LDL apheresis was capable of reducing oxidative and atherogenic markers in uremic patients with hyperlipidemia. We found that oxidative metabolites (methylquanidine, dityrosine, and ox-LDL) and atherogenic markers (lipoprotein (a), LDL, and LDL/HDL ratio) were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) after LDL apheresis. On the other hand, plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) was not influenced after LDL apheresis. Our results suggest that LDL apheresis reduces oxidative and atherogenic markers and do not influence plasma TAS in uremic patients with hyperlipidemia. This may lead to a decreased risk of atherosclerosis in these patients. However, supplementation of dietary proteins may be necessary because of the removal of some "useful" proteins (e.g., albumin and globulin) after LDL apheresis.