Thiol/Disulfide Homeostasis in Childhood Chronic Kidney Disease

Aim: The pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unknown, but an imbalance between the oxidant and antioxidant defense systems may be a potent trigger of adverse effects in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Measuring thiols in plasma offers an indirect marker of antioxidative defence. This study aimed to determine thiol/disulfide homeostasis as a new indicator of oxidant and antioxidant defence systems in pediatric CKD patients. Material and Methods: This prospective case-control study included 50 pediatric CKD patients (34 non-dialyzed and 16 dialyzed) and 50 gender- and agematched healthy controls. Results: The native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels were significantly lower in the CKD group than in the control group (p=0.003, p<0.001, p=0.002, respectively). There was a significant correlation between the glomerular filtration rate. and the native thiol levels and total thiol levels (p=0.003. for each). The native and total thiol levels in the dialyzed patientswere significantly lower than in the non-dialyzedpatients (p<0.001,p=0.002, respectively). Discussion: We observed that the levels of native thiol, total thiol and disulfide in pediatric CKD were lower than in healthy controls, indicating that low thiol levels might be an important factor in the pathogenesis of CKD.