THE CREATINE-KINASE PROFILE OF A MAINTENANCE HEMODIALYSIS POPULATION - A POSSIBLE MARKER OF UREMIC MYOPATHY

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 13  (5) , 235-238
Abstract
The sera of 100 regularly hemodialyzed patients were studied for creatine kinase (CK) and isoenzyme activity (MM, MB, BB) to determine the meaning of persistently elevated CK fortuitously noted in a proportion of these patients in the absence of clinical events to account for this finding. Nineteen patients (19%) had sustained CK elevation over the period of investigation with the skeletal muscle isoenzyme (MM) predominating. BB was within the normal range in these patients and MB exceeded 3.0% of total CK in only 2 patients. The pre-dialysis blood urea N mean for this group was significantly higher (P < 0.02) as was the serum creatine/kg of dry body weight (P < 0.05) than for the group with normal CK totals. There was no significant difference in peroneal nerve conduction velocity of serum bicarbonate between these groups. CK activity also correlated significantly with predialysis blood urea N values (r = 0.52, P < 0.001). The deranged N metabolism previously noted in uremia leads to the conclusion that the excess skeletal muscle CK may be related to the muscle wasting noted in some uremic patients.