Clinical Investigation

Kidney International (1996) 49, 833–838; doi:10.1038/ki.1996.115

Beneficial effect of renal transplantation on cognitive brain function

Ludwig Kramer, Christian Madl, Felix Stockenhuber, Wafa Yeganehfar, Edith Eisenhuber, Kurt Derfler, Kurt Lenz, Barbara Schneider and Georg Grimm1

Departments of Medicine IV and III, Institute of Medical Statistics and Documentation, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Correspondence: Ludwig Kramer MD, Department of Medicine IV, University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.

1LKH Klagenfurt, A-9020, Klagenfurt, Austria.

Received 3 April 1995; Revised 30 October 1995; Accepted 31 October 1995.

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Abstract

Beneficial effect of renal transplantation on cognitive brain function. Cognitive brain dysfunction is a common complication of end-stage renal disease. To investigate the cerebral effect of renal transplantation, we studied P300 event-related potentials—an objective marker of cognitive brain function—trailmaking test and Mini-mental state in 15 chronic hemodialysis patients and 45 matched healthy subjects. Before transplantation, patients showed prolonged P300 latency (364 vs. 337 ms, P < 0.01), smaller amplitude (15.2 vs. 19.1 muV) and scored lower (P < 0.05) in trailmaking test and Mini-mental state as compared to healthy subjects. Following renal transplantation (14 months), P300 latency decreased (337 ms, P < 0.01 vs. before) and amplitude increased (17.4 muV, P < 0.05 vs. before), indicating improved cognitive brain function. The trailmaking test and Mini-mental state tended to improve. Following transplantation, P300 findings, trailmaking test and Mini-mental state were not different from healthy subjects. Additional studies following erythropoietin treatment in 6 of the 15 hemodialysis patients revealed decreased (improved) P300 latency (351 vs. 379 ms before, P < 0.05) with further decrease following transplantation (341 ms, P = 0.06). Our findings indicate that cognitive brain dysfunction in hemodialysis patients may be fully reversed by successful renal transplantion.

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