Although, Renal Transplantation (RT) is the treatment of choice for patients with chronic Renal Failure (CRF), It predisposes also to atherosclerosis. Lipoprotein (a) plays a main role for developing atherosclerosis in these high risk patients.
The aim of this research is to study of relationship of lipoprotein (a) and many other risk factors with atherosclerosis in renal transplant recipients (RTR).
Sixty long survived RTR, enrolled to the study. Factors including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), Creatinine (Cr), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, Lp (a), and blood Glucose level were measured in fasting states. Lipid and lipoproteins concentration were measured by standard enzymatic methods. Intima-media thickening (IMT) of common carotid artery, as a marker of atherosclerosis, was measured by color Doppler ultrasonography, double blindly. Thirty healthy individuals also, with normal biochemical markers were selected as a control group. Correlations of the above mentioned biochemical markers with IMT in RTR, and also the comparison of IMT in the 2 groups were performed statistically by Pearson's regression line and t test, respectively, with SPSS 11. Serum LP (a) concentration was significantly higher in RTR (in both men and women) compared with control group (40.9+/-3 mg/dl vs. 12.3+/-6 mg/dl, p<0.05). There was no significant relationship between plasma concentration of LP (a) and IMT of carotid artery (P>0.05). The IMT of common carotid artery in RTR was more than the controls (0.76 vs. 0.69, p=0.009). Although both of the serum cholesterol and Tg levels were higher in RTR, they did not correlate with the degree of IMT. The severity of renal dysfunction in RTR also, did not correlate with IMT. We conclude that atherosclerosis is occurred frequently in the RTR, but it is not solely due to the increased serum concentration of LP cholesterol, TG and Cr, although they could potentiate the other traditional and non-traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis.