Residents who receive kidney dialysis may experience short-term “cerebral stunning.” They could also be more susceptible to progressive brain injury if they receive treatment for more than a year, a new study finds.
The investigation, which looked at almost 100 patients using dialysis, measured cerebral blood flow and tested relative cognitive functioning. The researchers found that both were compromised during dialysis treatments.
“This is an important study which we believe supports the current hypothesis that dialysis is associated with progressive brain injury,” said Patrick Mark, Ph.D., a nephrology professor at the University of Glasgow. When kidneys fail, dialysis keeps the person’s body in balance by removing waste, salt and extra water from the blood. Full findings appear in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
