Abstract
Background:Most hemodialysis patients present with chronic systemic inflammation characterized by the elevation of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and/or the production of proinflammatory interleukins by the immune system in response to the hemodialysis process. Plasma ferritin(PF) is one of the parameters used to correct anemia. An PF level of >500 ng/mL is not recommended for correction of anemia because of the uncertainty of whether these levels are elevated because of anemia or a mere reaction to inflammation. we aimed to study the effects of inflammation on seminal ferritin (SF) levels and hypothesized that SF is not affected because of the testicular immune privilege.
Methods:A prospective prevalence study was conducted at the Department of Hemodialysis of the University Hospital of Brasília (HuB) between June 2010 and July 2011. The sample included 60 chronic renal patients undergoing hemodialysis and 20 control subjects from the health promotion general outpatient clinic. All participants were males aged 18–60 years. Inflammation was assessed through serum CRP levels, and the testicular condition was determined by measuring sex hormone levels. In the patient group, inflammation was considered to be present when CRP was >5 mg/L (n= 27) and absent when CRP was≤5 mg/L (n= 33). Control group (n= 20) CRP was≤1mg/L. Bloodandsemen were collected via arm venoclysis and after voluntarymasturbation, respectively. CRP was measured by turbidimetry; PF, SF, and sex hormone levels by immunochemoluminescence. Statisticalsignificance was set at p