Whey Protein, Vitamins C and E Decrease Interleukin-10 in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients: A Pioneer, Randomized, Double-Blind Pilot Trial

Objective: To evaluate the effects of supplementation with whey protein combined with vitamins C and E on inflammatory markers in Design and Methods: This was a pioneer, randomized and double-blinded study. Patients were randomized into two groups and stratified by HD frequency. The supplementation group received 20 g of whey protein, 250 mg of vitamin C, and 600 IU of vitamin E; the placebo group, 20 g of rice flour, and microcrystalline cellulose capsules. The interventions were given after HD, 3 times a week, for 8 weeks. The inflammatory markers were assessed: interleukin (IL) IL-12p70, IL-10, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. For statistical analysis, the c2 test, Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney test, analysis of variance for repeated two-way measurements, paired t test, and Wilcoxon test were performed. P , .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Twenty-three patients completed the study. No significant differences were found in inflammatory markers when comparing the groups postintervention. In the intragroup was a decrease in IL-10 in the supplementation group after 8 weeks (P 5 .0382). IL-6 tended to decrease by 810.95% in the supplementation group and increased by 732.8% (nonsignificant) in the placebo group. Conclusion: Whey protein combined with vitamins C and E significantly reduced IL-10 in the supplementation group and could be beneficial to reduce IL-6 in HD patients. Future studies are suggested with a larger sample size, different supplementation doses, and longer interventions.