BACKGROUND The creation and management of an autologous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) as vascular access (VA) for hemodialysis patients is still a critical procedure. The placement of a functional and long-lasting VA derives from adequate planning of the surgical procedure based on physical examination, vascular mapping and selection of the best modality for arteriovenous anastomosis. The risk of...

Creation of an autologous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for vascular access in haemodialysis is the modality of choice. However neointimal hyperplasia and loss of the luminal compartment result in AVF patency rates of ~60% at 12months. The exact cause of neointimal hyperplasia in the AVF is poorly understood. Vascular trauma has long been associated with hyperplasia. With this in mind in our rabb...

BACKGROUND Native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the most appropriate type of vascular access for chronic dialysis. Its patency rates depend on vascular wall characteristics. Ketoacid analogues of essential amino acids (KA/EAA) are prescribed in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) pre-dialysis patients to lower toxic metabolic products generation and improve nutritional status. We hypothesized that ...

BACKGROUND Hemodialysis as an efficient therapy for advanced CKD is the most used treatment modality all over the world. Even though primary AVF is widely accepted as a best permanent vascular access in hemodialysis patients, up to 60% of all fistulas fail to mature. The pathogenesis of early fistula failure is not very well understood. Many general and local factors are involved: patient's age...

BACKGROUND For patients with end-stage renal failure hemodialysis with an autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) has proven to be the ideal vascular access. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to discover potential predictors of a well-functioning hemodialysis fistula. METHODS From December 2009 to March 2011, 80 patients undergoing first time AVF creation were enrolled in our retrospective ...

To date, no study has assessed the degree of similarity between left ventricular (LV) reverse remodeling and atrophic remodeling. Stable LV hypertrophy was induced by creation of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in Lewis rats (32 days). LV unloading was induced by heterotopic transplantation of normal (NL-HT) and/or hypertrophic (AVF-HT) hearts (7 days). We compared indexes of remodeling in AVF, ...

BACKGROUND Autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the best vascular access (VA) for hemodialysis, but its creation is still a critical procedure. Physical examination, vascular mapping and doppler ultrasound (DUS) evaluation are recommended for AVF planning, but they can not provide direct indication on AVF outcome. We recently developed and validated in a clinical trial a patient-specific c...

BACKGROUND The American Fistula First Breakthrough Initiative currently aims for a 66% arterio-venous fistula (AVF) rate, while in the UK, best practice tariffs target AVF and arterio-venous graft (AVG) rates of 85%. The present study aims to assess whether these goals can be achieved. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients who initiated haemodialysis from 1995 to 2006....

BACKGROUND Guidance varies regarding the optimal timing of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between uraemia, haemodialysis and early AVF failure. METHODS Immunoblotting and cell proliferation assays were performed on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSM) cells isolated from long saphenous vein samples to evaluate the cells' ability to pr...

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) nonmaturation is currently a significant clinical problem; however, the mechanisms responsible for this have remained unanswered. Previous work by our group and others has suggested that anatomical configuration and the corresponding hemodynamic endpoints could have an important role in AVF remodeling. Thus, our goal was to assess the longitudinal (temporal) effect o...