Bisphenol A in Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Several types of medical devices are produced using polycarbonate (PC) polymer. Unfortunately, these medical devices produced using PC could contain and release Bisphenol A (BPA) residual in routinely use. Published evidence on BPA in dialysis or Chronic Kidney patients (CKD) is scarce and limited to the observation of increased blood BPA levels. Increased serum BPA with decreasing renal function was observed in a smaller study of 32 CKD patients, suggesting that BPA may accumulate. Recently a crossover study evaluated the impact of the choice of dialyzer (BPA-free versus BPA-containing) on serum and intracellular BPA levels and on inflammation and oxidative stress markers. Currently, BPA is still considered, from regulatory agencies, safe enough in the general population, despite several red flags, as it is readily excreted in the urine. However, patients in End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) are unable to excrete BPA in their urine, leading to BPA accumulation. Repeated loading of BPA during hemodialysis with BPA-containing membranes may aggravate the problem due to migration of BPA from dialyzers to the blood of patients. In contrast, some recent studies on the chronic use of BPA-free dialyzers, results in decreased BPA levels.