Effects of irbesartan combined with levocarnitine on microinflammatory parameters and nutritional status in patients on maintenance hemodialysis

Objective To investigate the effect of irbesartan combined with levocarnitine on microinflammatory and nutritional status in patients on maintenance hemodialysis(MHD).Methods 132 patients on MHD were enrolled.They were randomly divided into four groups and followed up for six months.34 of them were treated with irbesartan combined with levocarnitine(group A),32 treated with irbesartan(group B),33 treated with levocarnitine(group C ),and 33 not given ACEI,ARB or levocarnitine(group D). The serum levels of c - reactive protein(CRP),interleukin(IL) - 8,IL - 10,transforming growth factor(TGF) and nutrition were measured at the beginning of treatment,three months,and six months later.Results At the outset of the investigation,the serum levels of CRP,IL - 8,and IL - 10 and TGF in the patients were significantly higher than those in the control group(P0.01).After the treatment of three months,the parameters of CRP,IL-8,and IL - 10 were significantly decreased in Group A,B and C,compared with Group D and before treatment(P0.05).Six months later,the levels of IL - 8 in groups A,B and C were also significantly lower than those in Group D and baseline(P0.05 ).The serum levels of albumicn(Alb) and pre - albumin(PA) in Group A and C were increased significantly(P0.05 ).The levels of serum CRP,IL - 8,IL - 10 and TGF in Group A were decreased greatly after treatment of six months(P0.05 ),while the levels of serum Alb and PA were increased significantly(P0.05 ),compared with those in Group B and C.Conclusions Irbesartan combined with levocarnitine significantly improves microinflammation and nutrition status in MHD patients,compared with using irbesartan or levocarnitine alone.