Conclusions: In HD patients, the circulating levels of ET-1 and expression of ET-1 in internal iliac artery walls were statistically associated with CRP and IL- 6. Moreover, the circulating levels of ET-1 and expression of ET-1 in internal iliac artery walls were independent predictors of carotid atherosclerosis. The correlations may suggest that increased circulating ET-1 level and upregulated expression of ET-1 in the vasculature could contribute to the formation of atherosclerosis in HD patients.
PMID: 20437399 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Journal of Nephrology)