RESUMO
In order to study the reliability of plasma LCAT activity as a marker of cardiovascular risk, we compared 66 chronic hemodialysis patients with a control group (n = 72) and a coronary artery disease (CAD) patients group (n = 46). The decrease of LCAT activity (measured by the Nagasaki method) did not appear as a marker of CAD risk; if this activity was effectively lower in 51 of the hemodialysis patients (p less than 0.001) than in the patients of the control group, it was higher in CAD patients (p less than 0.001). In the remaining 15 hemodialysis patients, we found an almost undetectable LCAT activity, not accompanied by a change in esterification percentage when compared with the other hemodialysis patients; the mixing of these serums with control group restored an enzymatic activity and excludes the presence of an inhibitor. The only risk factors common to hemodialysis and CAD patients was the decrease of HDL cholesterol and the high frequency of combined hyperlipoproteinemia.
