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Selenium, Lead, and Cadmium Levels in Renal Failure Patients in China

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Abstract

Whole blood and serum samples of Chinese stable chronic renal failure (CRF) patients (n = 81), hemodialysis patients (n = 135), posttransplant patients (n = 60), and subjects with normal renal function (NRF; N = 42) were collected, as well as water and dialysate samples from five dialysis centers. The concentration of selenium (Se), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean serum Se levels in patients with different degrees of renal failure were significantly lower than those of subjects with NRF (p < 0.01). Pb levels were not increased in renal failure patients, while the Cd levels in patients with various degrees of renal failure were higher than in subjects with NRF (p < 0.05). After correcting the results of Pb and Cd for hematocrit (Hct) however, Pb levels of dialysis patients were also increased. In the dialysis population under study, blood Pb and Cd levels were closely related to the time on dialysis, while contamination of the final dialysate may also contribute to the increased blood Cd and to a less extent Pb levels. Correction for Hct may be recommended to accurately compare blood Pb and Cd levels in dialysis patients and CRF patients with varying degrees of anemia to those of subjects with NRF.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr Yun SUN (Jinan) and Dr Yan ZHANG (Yantai) in China for providing the samples and questionnaires. This research was performed in the frame of a coculture programme between China and Belgium and has been financed by the China Scholarship Council and the Department of Pathophysiology, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Bing Chen is a student of the Shandong University in China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Pathophysiology, Faculties of Medicine and Biomedical and Pharmaceutical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Campus CDE-Universiteitsplein 1 (building T3), B-2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium

    Bing Chen, Ludwig V. Lamberts, Geert J. Behets, Xianghua Hou & Patrick C. D’Haese

  2. Department of Nephrology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Shandong University, 247#, Beiyuan Road, Jinan, 250033, People’s Republic of China

    Bing Chen, Gang Liu, Xianghua Hou & Guangju Guan

  3. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shandong Provincial Chest Hospital, Jinan, 250013, People’s Republic of China

    Tingting Zhao & Mingxiang Zhou

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  1. Bing Chen
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  2. Ludwig V. Lamberts
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  4. Tingting Zhao
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  6. Gang Liu
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  7. Xianghua Hou
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  8. Guangju Guan
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  9. Patrick C. D’Haese
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guangju Guan or Patrick C. D’Haese.

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Chen, B., Lamberts, L.V., Behets, G.J. et al. Selenium, Lead, and Cadmium Levels in Renal Failure Patients in China. Biol Trace Elem Res 131, 1–12 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-009-8340-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-009-8340-y

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