Isotope-specific breath analysis to track the end-stage renal disease during hemodialysis

The underlying mechanisms towards the progression of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are poorly understood and it still remains a major clinical stumbling block for early detection of CKD. Most patients with CKD pass through ESRD with the necessity of frequent hemodialysis (HD) treatment. At present, plasma urea and creatinine levels are examined in most CKD patients to monitor their health status after dialysis. But it is impossible to get immediate feedback on the patients ’ health as the conventional tests involve the collection of blood samples, laboratory processing for a prolonged period of time and, finally, analysis of those samples. However, the test results are very important in deciding the treatment plan for those ESRD patients. Here, we show that the enzymatic activity of carbonic anhydrase in erythrocytes is distinctly altered in ESRD subjects under HD. This, in turn, leads to the isotopic enrichments of oxygen-18 ( 18 O) and ...
Source: Journal of Breath Research - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Source Type: research