Liquid chromatography reveals relationship of vitamin C in dialysis patients

Liquid chromatography has been used by scientists to study whether vitamin C had an anti-inflammatory effect in dialysis patients.

The study was published in BMC Nephrology and the cross-sectional assessment saw scientists scrutinise 284 dialysis patients, including 167 on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and 117 using maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).

Using high-performance liquid chromatography, the team discovered that vitamin C deficiency was present in just under a third of those studied and insufficiency in almost 31 per cent.

They also found that plasma vitamin C level was inversely associated with log10hsCRP and positively linked with prealbumin levels.

"The investigation indicates that vitamin C deficiency is common in both MHD patients and CAPD patients," the team stated.

It suggested that while the findings suggest vitamin C deficiency can increase inflammatory status in dialysis patients, further studies are needed to determine if this can be improved with the use of vitamin C supplements.