The Effect of Glucose Added to the Dialysis Fluid on Blood Pressure, Vasoactive Hormones and Energy Transfer during Hemodialysis in Chronic Renal Failure

Background: Previous studies showed that blood pressure was reduced in patients with chronic renal failure during hemodialysis with glucose added to the dialysis fluid. We wanted to test the hypotheses that blood pressure is reduced in non-diabetic and diabetic dialysis patients, when glucose is added to the dialysis fluid, and that blood pressure changes are caused by changes in plasma concentrations of vasoactive hormones or to vasodilation secondary to an increase in body temperature. Methods: The effect of dialysis with glucose added to the dialysis fluid was measured in three randomized, placebo-controlled, un-blinded and cross-over studies with periods of one week duration. In non-diabetic nephropathy (Study 1, n = 19) and diabetic nephropathy (Study 2, n = 15), we measured blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate (PR), plasma concentrations of glucose (p-Glucose), renin (PRC), angiotensin II (p-AngII), endothelin (p-Endot), insulin (p-Ins), glucagon (p-Glu), and human growth hormone (p-hGH). In non-diabetic nephropathy (Study 3, n = 24), we measured the effect of dialysis with glucose added to the dialysis fluid on energy transport from form the body using body temperature control. Results: Study 1 and 2 showed that BP, PRC, p-AngII, and p-Ins were unchanged, whereas P-Endot increased and P-hGH decreased, in dialysis patients with or without glucose added to the dialysis fluid. In diabetics, a marginal increase in p-Glu was measured during dialysis with glucose, but not without glucose. Study 3 showed that SBP increased significantly using dialysis with temperature control of dialysis fluid compared with no temperature control (145 versus 138 mm Hg). In parallel with the increase in SBP, the energy flux from the patients was significantly higher with temperature control than without. Conclusion: In non-diabetics and diabetics, blood pressure was unchanged during dialysis with glucose added to the dialysis fluid in a short-term study. Vasoactive hormones in plasma were changed in the same way independently of glucose in the dialysis fluid. Systolic blood pressure increased using dialysis with temperature control of dialysis fluid, presumably due to vasoconstriction to prevent or antagonize a fall in body temperature.