ALUMINUM TOXICITY: A REVIEW IN RELATION TO CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE PATIENTS M AINTAINED ON REGULAR HEMODIALYSIS

Aluminum is present in very small amounts in living organisms but abundant in the environment. A growing literature links with the biochemistry of aluminum and also with a series of diseases in chronic renal failure patients on treatment with hemodialysis. The initial description of potential aluminum toxicity in renal failure patients relates to description of dialysis encephalopathy syndrome in 1972. The major emphasise of this review will be on the recent literature involving aluminum metabolism and epidemiology of aluminum related disease. Finally the possibility that aluminum contributes to hypochromic microcytic anemia, dialysis osteomalacia (Newcastle bone disease), encephalopathy and Alzheimer disease in hemodialyzed patients has been also discussed.