Effects of Antioxidant Vitamines on Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often known as a process accompanied by inflammation and oxidative stress. Increasing oxidative stress levels, decreased antioxidant defense and chronic inflammation in CKD patients may be risk factors for many health problems, especially cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, proper use of antioxidant therapy is very important in these patients. When the effect of antioxidant vitamins is evaluated, serum vitamin A concentrations are often thought to be high in patients with CKD due to reductions in retinol-binding protein catabolism. Accordingly, vitamin A supplementation is not recommended for CKD patients. It is controversial to recommend vitamin C, another antioxidant, for these patients because of the pro-oxidant effects and risk of increasing oxalate formation. However, when evaluating patients receiving dialysis treatment, significant losses in vitamin C and decreases in intake due to dietary restrictions must be taken into attention. Although many positive effects of vitamin E have been reported in CKD patients, it is not possible to make clear recommendations due to differences such as the dosage, duration and route of supplementation. However, it is thought that the use of vitamin E-coated dialysis membrane can alleviate oxidative stress. In patients with CKD, studies on antioxidant vitamin supplements are needed. In addition, the dietary antioxidant vitamin intake of the patients is very important to evaluate.