End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who are undergoing hemodialysis (HD) have higher levels of blood markers which the body makes in response to increased stress and injury. An increase in these markers has been shown to be related to cardiovascular disease and death in ESRD patients. It is believed that taking antioxidants (e.g. Vitamin E) may decrease these markers. In a previous study in ESRD patients on HD, consumption of a Vitamin E tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) was found to improve some of these markers. The current study will follow a larger group of patients for a longer time period (1 year) and document effects on additional markers
The study will document the extent to which supplementation with TRF will improve markers of inflammation, oxidative stress as well as blood lipids in ESRD patients on chronic HD as compared to a placebo. Additionally, the study will aim to document any improvement in Restless Legs Syndrome - tingling sensation in the legs - (RLS) with TRF, based on a standard questionnaire.
The study will last for 15 months. At the start of the study basic patient information will be evaluated related to their monthly dialysis labs, inflammation and oxidative stress markers as well as general information about the patients in relation to their kidney disease. Patients will then be randomized into one of two groups. One group will receive TRF, daily, for 12 months while the second group will receive placebo, daily, for 12 months. Capsules will be administered in the dialysis clinic/unit at the start of each dialysis session (thrice weekly), while patients will be provided capsules to be consumed at home for the remaining four days of each week.
During the 12 month treatment period, patients will be questioned every three months at their dialysis units by study staff to obtain information on dialysis labs, medical condition, hospitalizations, and to check to see if they are taking the study capsules.
As part of their routine standard care, patients will continue to have monthly blood draws. For the purposes of this study, at each trimonthly blood draw, we will obtain additional blood to examine the markers related to oxidative stress, inflammation and lipids. A blood sample will also be collected at 15 months (3 months after patients stop taking capsules). Therefore over the course of the entire study, blood will obtained at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months (plus the 15 month follow-up sample).
At each trimonthly blood draw including the follow-up visit at 15 months, patients will also be verbally administered a Restless Legs Syndrome Questionnaire. In addition a dietitian member of the research team will administer a 24 hr diet recall questionnaire
Sample size was based on inflammatory markers (hsCRp and IL-6) as reported in earlier studies and a sample size of 175 per group was estimated to achieve a 80% power at p=0.05 significance level. Thus accounting for potential drop-outs over the 1 year of the study, target is recruitment of 400 patients total (200 for each group) in Detroit, MI.
(A similar study, following a similar protocol and using the same study design and intervention will recruit 400 patients total (200 for each group) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).
