Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is prevalent all over the world. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are high among CKD patients especially hemodialysis (HD) patients. Vascular calcifications are common among hemodialysis patients and its etiology is related to the derangements in mineral and bone metabolism. Sclerostin is a new glycoprotein that is involved in both vascular calcification and inhibition of bone formation in CKD patients. Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the correlation between serum sclerostin level and valvular calcifications in End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients.
Patients and methods: Aortic and mitral valve calcifications were assessed by echocardiography and serum sclerostin levels were measured by ELISA method in 80 ESRD patients on regular hemodialysis. Parathyroid hormone, serum phosphorus, serum calcium and serum alkaline phosphatase were also measured.
Results: Aortic valvular calcification was present in 58.8% of patients and mitral valvular calcification in 33.8% of patients. The mean level of sclerostin in our patients was 0.63 (SD 0.14) ng/ml. The mean parathyroid hormone was 521 pmol/l, the mean calcium level was 8.39 mg/dl while the mean phosphorus level was 5.5 mg/dl. There was no significant correlation between serum sclerostin levels and aortic valve or mitral valve calcification in our case series. Conclusion: In ESRD patients receiving regular hemodialysis, serum sclerostin levels were not substantially associated with mitral valve or aortic valve calcification.