[Study of serum level of antithrombin-III antigen, antithrombin activity, and its ratio of AT-III-heparin complex formation in maintenance hemodialysis patients].

: The plasma level of Antithrombin-III (AT-III) antigen, antithrombin activity and the ratio of AT-III-heparin complex formation have been studied in 20 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis on regular hemodialysis at two occasions with 2 year interval (in 1986 and 1988), and studied as to each variation in each plasma levels, and compared with the period of length of hemodialysis-history of individual cases. A significant decrease was found not only in plasma level of AT-III antigen (25.7 +/- 4.1 mg/dl to 23.4 +/- 3.9 mg/dl), but also in antithrombin activity (90.8 +/- 11.8% to 85.2 +/- 16.8%). Moreover and ratio of AT-III-heparin complex formation was significantly reduced during two years, too (50.7 +/- 3.0% to 53.0 +/- 1.5%). Similarly, a significant negative correlation could be found on the comparison between the duration of hemodialysis and each plasma levels of AT-III antigen (r = -0.27), antithrombin activity (r = -0.33), and as well as ratio of AT-III-heparin complex formation (r = -0.34). Therefore, it was interestingly suggested the possibility that prolonged hemodialysis treatment induced a functional loss of AT-III, especially in a capacity to form a AT-III-heparin complex due to partial loss of the affinity for heparin.