June 25, 2007
Confirmed by new study: high-flux dialyzers improve survival of dialysis patients
Most dialysis patients have a significantly better chance of survival if they are treated with high-flux dialyzers rather than low-flux dialyzers. This is the conclusion of a new international study conducted under the direction of the Italian renal specialist Prof. Francesco Locatelli from the Alessandro Manzoni Hospital in Lecco.
The results of the study were presented last weekend during the European Dialysis and Transplantation Association/European Renal Association (EDTA/ERA) Congress in Barcelona. The study showed that dialysis patients with a low albumin concentration in their blood that were treated with high-flux dialyzers had a 37% lower mortality risk during the three to seven-and-a-half years of the study than those that were treated with low-flux dialyzers. Depending on the country, 56% to 85% of dialysis patients have a low albumin concentration in their blood (four grams per deciliter or less).
The study was conducted over seven-and-a-half years in nine European countries. The 738 patients involved were treated three times a week. Half of the patients received treatment with high-flux dialyzers – predominantly dialyzers from Fresenius Medical Care. The other half received therapy with low-flux dialyzers.
This is the first time a prospective randomized clinical study scientifically proves that treatment with high-flux dialyzers reduces the mortality risk of patients with severe chronic kidney disease. Indications of a lower mortality risk first appeared in the mid-90s.
Specialists attribute the increased survival rates from high-flux dialyzers to a more efficient filtering of larger uremic toxins from the blood. High-flux membranes have a greater water permeability and pores that are two-and-a-half times larger than low-flux membranes. The filtering capabilities of high-flux membranes are closer to the natural kidney function and allow the body to remove large amounts of liquids and toxic uremic substances in a short period of time. High-flux dialyzers can also help maintain any remaining kidney function for a longer period of time.
High-flux dialyzers have the most technically advanced membranes. Their use is increasing worldwide and, in many countries, more than 60% of the patients are treated with high-flux dialyzers. "The positive results of the new study validate our efforts to offer innovative dialysis products such as our high-flux dialyzers with Helixone membranes so that dialysis patients can look toward the future with more confidence. We expect demand for high-flux dialyzers to continue to increase. And we are proud that the majority of the patients in the study's high-flux-group were treated with our dialyzers," said Dr. Emanuele Gatti, Fresenius Medical Care Chief Executive Officer for Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.
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Helixone is a registered trademark of Fresenius Medical Care.
Fresenius Medical Care is the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis because of chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 1,500,000 individuals worldwide. Through its network of 2,194 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to 169,216 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care is also the world's leading provider of dialysis products such as hemodialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposable products. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME, FME3) and the New York Stock Exchange (FMS, FMS/P).
For more information about Fresenius Medical Care visit the Company's website at www.fmc-ag.com.