Due to improvements in surgical techniques, anesthesia, and anti-rejection medications associated with renal transplantation, short-term outcomes after renal transplantation are extremely good. Patients often recover well after the transplant, and their new kidney often lasts for years to decades. There is therefore increasing attention for the quality of life and outcomes longer after the kidney transplant. Unfortunately, these patients often experience cardiovascular disease after their kidney transplant, due to a lot of vascular calcification and high arterial stiffness. So far, there is no treatment that can inhibit this vascular calcification and arterial stiffness after kidney transplantation.
Vitamin K deficiency in renal transplant patients
In recent years, on the basis of previous research, vitamin K deficiency has been suggested as a possible cause of vascular calcification and high arterial stiffness. We mainly get vitamin K through our diet, and it is found in green vegetables, meat and fermented soybeans, for example. Vitamin K deficiency is common in kidney transplant patients – much more often than in the general population. The fact that vitamin K plays an important role in the prevention of arteriosclerosis and arterial stiffness has already been suggested in animal studies and in human studies, but there was as yet no evidence that vitamin K supplementation is useful after kidney transplantation.
Vitamin K inhibits vascular stiffness
New research by Coby Eelderink, Daan Kremer and Charlotte te Velde-Keyzer from the UMCG, among others, shows that taking vitamin K supplements in kidney transplant patients with a vitamin K deficiency can indeed inhibit an increase in arterial stiffness. There were no direct effects on calcification processes in the body; patients may need to take vitamin K longer to see these effects. These great results offer new perspectives for improving the cardiovascular health of kidney transplant patients.
By: National Care Guide
