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Cardiovascular End Points Reduced With Antioxidant Acetylcysteine In Haemodialysis Patients

Acetylcysteine reduces composite cardiovascular end points in patients undergoing haemodialysis, say German researchers.

End-stage renal failure results in increased oxidative stress and reveal elevated cardiovascular mortality. Researchers from the Berlin's Freie Universitat evaluated the thiol-containing anti-oxidant, acetylcysteine, to determine the possibility of preventing these increased cardiovascular events

Seventy six males and 58 females, mean ages 62 ±16 years, who had been undergoing maintenance haemodialysis for at least three months participated in this prospective, randomised, placebo controlled trial between October 1,1999, and September 30, 2001. They were assigned to receive either acetylcysteine 600 mg twice daily or a placebo.

Primary end point was a composite variable composed of cardiac events that included fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, death from cardiovascular disease, necessity for either coronary angioplasty or by-pass surgery, ischaemic stroke, peripheral vascular disease requiring amputation or need for angioplasty.

Each of these components outcomes was included in their secondary end points, plus total and cardiovascular mortality, and their median follow-up range was 14.5 (1 to 24 months).

A primary end point was established in 18 of the 64 haemodialysed patients who received acetylcysteine, and 33 of 70 patients undergoing haemodialysis assigned to the control group.

Researchers noted there were no significant differences detected in secondary end points or total mortality.
Circulation February 2003 Vol 107 No 7 pp 992-995. "The antioxidant acetylcysteine reduces cardiovascular events in patients with end-stage renal failure: a randomized, controlled trial."

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