Serum Retinol, Retinol-Binding Protein, and Transthyretin in Children Receiving Dialysis
published online 21 July 2009.
Objective
We investigated the relationships of retinol (ROH), retinol-binding protein (RBP), and transthyretin (TTR) in children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Our hypothesis was that levels of ROH and RBP would be elevated in children with ESRD.
Methods and Patients
We measured ROH, RBP, and TTR serum concentrations in a group of pediatric ESRD patients biannually. Children were grouped according to age and method of dialysis, i.e., hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD): HD1, aged <12 years (n = 8); PD1, aged <12 years (n = 19); HD2, aged ≥12 years (n =19); and PD2, aged ≥12 years (n = 29).
Results
No differences in ROH, RBP, TTR, or their ratios were found as a function of type of dialysis in groups PD2 and HD2. The ROH and TTR were significantly higher in PD1 than HD1 (P = .01 and P = .003, respectively). No correlations were evident between ROH and RBP or TTR with length of time on dialysis, serum calcium, or serum creatinine, except for group PD2, in which ROH was positively correlated with RBP (P = .025). There were no significant differences among any of the ratios in terms of age or method of dialysis.
Conclusions
The data indicate that children with ESRD exhibit elevated levels of serum ROH, RBP, and TTR, in proportions similar to those reported in the adult ESRD literature. Further study is needed to clarify the consequences of increased ROH in uremic children.
∗Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
†Children's Hospital of Michigan and Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Address reprint requests to Nancy Fassinger, PhD, RD, Children's Hospital of Michigan, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201.
A.I. is presently at the Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
D.M.K. is presently at the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland.
ABSTRACT