Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive condition that may negatively affect musculoskeletal
health. Secondary sarcopenia due to CKD may be associated with mobility limitations
and elevated fall risk. Thus, it is important to investigate surrogate methods that enable
the assessment of muscle mass. Myostatin regulates synthesis and degradation of skeletal muscle
proteins and is associated with the development of sarcopenia. This study assessed the myostatin
level in CKD patients and correlated with body mass index. This a prospective case
control study, carried out on 30 Egyptian patients with CKD (15 have post-HCV cirrhosis) attended
for dialysis in Al-Hammoul Central Hospital and 15 healthy controls. All patients were
subjected to detailed medical history and through clinical examination, abdominal ultrasound
and determination of serum myostatin level. The mean, standard deviation and chi-square were
calculated by SPSS. ROC curves were conducted to test the discriminative value of myostatin
level on sarcopenia and to detect the cut-off points. The results showed significant increase in
the serum myostatin level in hemodialysis patients. Myostatin level in post-HCV cirrhotic patients
was insignificantly higher than in non-cirrhotic patients. There was a significant negative
correlation between serum myostatin level and BMI and skeletal muscle index (SMI). ROC
curve showed that a cut off value of 39.05ng/ml can detect sarcopenia in hemodialysis patients.