Methylated arginines and nitric oxide in end-stage renal disease: impact of inflammation, oxidative stress and haemodialysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether inflammation (C-reactive protein, CRP), oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, MDA) or haemodialysis (HD) affect associations between asymmetric (ADMA), symmetric (SDMA) dimethylarginine, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) and nitrite/nitrate (NOx) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
METHOD: Metabolites were measured pre-HD, after 1 hour and end-HD in 40 ESRD patients (age 63 ± 14 years).
RESULTS: Positive associations between NOx and ADMA (p = 0.04), SDMA (p < 0.001) and L-NMMA (p = 0.04) were observed pre-HD. Associations weakened during HD but were not significantly influenced by CRP or MDA.
CONCLUSIONS: HD, oxidative stress or inflammation did not significantly affect the positive associations between methylated arginines and NOx in ESRD.