Kara, Ali Veysel; Ozdemir, Ridvan; Inan, Hamza; Ozdemir, Beyza Ozerten; Hayme, Serhat; Cosgun, Muharrem Said

Background: We aimed to examine whether serum magnesium level is related to cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients by investigating the relationship between serum magnesium (Mg) level and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 88 hemodialysis patients. The mean CIMT of these patients was measured and recorded by doppler ultrasonography. Patients were divided into two groups according to their serum magnesium level. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were used to define the relationship between study parameters. We divided our patients into 2 groups according to Mg value as group 1 (Mg ≥ 2.3 mg/dl) and group 2 (Mg < 2.3 mg/dl). Results: The mean CIMT of patients with group 1 and group 2 were respectively 0.93 ± 0.22 mm and 1.03 ± 0.22 mm. There was statistically significant difference between two groups in terms of the mean CIMT value (p = 0.045). We found negative, low-level, statistically significant correlations between Mg and mean CIMT ​​(r=-0.272; p = 0.010), calcium and mean CIMT (r: -0.221, p: 0.039) and hemoglobin and mean CIMT (r: -0.215, p: 0.044). According to regression analysis, serum magnesium level and age were found independent risk factors for mean CIMT value (p: 0.004 and p: 0.045). Conclusions: We found a significant relationship between serum Mg level and CIMT, which indicates carotid atherosclerosis.

Turkmen, Kultigin; Tonbul, Halil Zeki; Erdur, Fatih Mehmet; Toker, Aysun; Biyik, Zeynep; Ozbiner, Huseyin; Gaipov, Abduzhappar; Gul, Elvin Enes; Kayrak, Mehmet; Solak, Yalcin

Background: Cardiovascular risk is increased in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and also found to be ongoing in renal transplant (Rtx) patients. As a sign of atherosclerosis, increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) has been widely accepted as a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in CKD patients. A novel markers, soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were introduced as potential markers in inflammatory disorders including CKD. The role of Rtx in terms of atherogenesis is still unclear. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sTWEAK, NLR and CIMT in Rtx patients without overt CVD and to compare these results with those obtained from healthy subjects. Methods. Cross-sectional analysis in which CIMT measurements, NLR and serum TWEAK levels were assessed in 70 Rtx patients (29 females; mean age, 40.6 ± 12.4 years) and 25 healthy subjects (13 females, mean age; 37.4±8.8 years). Results: sTWEAK levels were significantly decreased (p=0.01) and hs-CRP, NLR and CIMT levels of Rtx patients were significantly increased compared to healthy subjects (p<0.0001, p=0.001, p<0.0001, respectively). sTWEAK was also found to be decreased when eGFR was decreased (p=0.04 between all groups). CIMT was positively correlated with sTWEAK and NLR in Rtx patients (r=0.81, p<0.0001 and r=0.33, p=0.006, respectively). sTWEAK was also positively correlated with NLR (r=0.37, p=0.002). In the multivariate analysis only sTWEAK was found to be an independent variable of increased CIMT. Conclusion: sTWEAK might have a role in the pathogenesis of ongoing atherosclerosis in Rtx patients.