Journal of Clinical & Experimental Nephrology

The Impact of Inflammation on Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Background: Cognitive impairment is a common characteristic in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients. It has been suggested that inflammation may be implicated in cognitive impairment found in CKD patients. Hence, the aim of this systematic review was to provide an update on recent advances in our understanding of how inflammation contributes to cognitive impairment in uremic patients. Methods: A systematic review was conducted searching Pubmed and Scopus by using the Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines from March 2016 through August 2016. PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar were used to search for studies that investigated the impact of inflammation in cognitive impairment in CKD patients. Results: The literature search identified only two studies that examined inflammatory biomarkers and cognitive impairment, and correlated them, indicating that inflammation is implicated in cognitive impairment in CKD patients. It has been suggested that cognitive impairment is related to the level of renal functional impairment and especially in the end stage renal disease, where the immune system is strongly activated, cognitive impairment is more profound. Cytokines, a major contributor to molecular mechanisms, maintain memory and cognitive processes and may impair hippocampal plasticity. Cytokine production may have a different negative effect and may affect the early stages of cell production and proliferation in the dentate gyrus. Conclusion: Inflammation may be implicated in cognitive impairment found in CKD patients. However, further research should be done in this field in order to investigate the mechanisms that are implicated in cognitive impairment in CKD patients.

Author(s):

Antonia Kaltsatou

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