Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate endothelial dysfunction (ED) in children following treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in comparison with healthy controls (HC) and to correlate Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI) with anthropometric and biochemical parameters.

Research design and methods: As part of new non-invasive plethysmographic technique, an EndoPAT 2000^® recorder was used for the determination of RHI by measuring postocclusive endothelium-dependent changes in vascular tone (PAT) in subjects fingertips. There were also assessed plasma levels of selectin, ADMA, hsCRP, sVCAM as biochemical markers of ED in ALL children and reference controls. Meeting the including criteria 40 eligible study participants were enrolled in the study. A group of 28 ALL patients were matched with control group of 12 healthy children (HC).

Results: Significantly lower RHI were revealed in ALL patients in comparison with HC (1.57±0.50, 1.96±0.63; p≤0.05) respectively, implying impaired endothelial-dependent dilation. Furthermore, significantly elevated plasma levels of selectin and hsCRP were found in ALL patients when compared to HC supporting the theory of premature endothelial dysfunction in high risk group of children. There were discovered no correlations between RHI and biochemical parameters of ED.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that ALL patients might have impaired endothelial dysfunction, which is associated with high risk of premature atherosclerosis manifestation. RHI is a promising non-invasive method for the assessment of ED in children with high risk of premature atherosclerosis.

This work was supported by the Charles University Student Research Project SVV-2010- 260805.