Aluminum removal from blood

For example, DFO treatment has been used to facilitate the removal of aluminum from bone and its entry into the blood where it can be removed by hemodialysis (Haddad and Winchester 1990). DFO is also used in dialyzed uremic patients for the treatment of neurological, hematopoietic, and skeletal toxicity. It should be noted that the clinical usefulness of DFO is limited by a variety of toxic effects including hypotension, skin rashes, stimulation of fungal growth, and possibly cataract formation. 

Elevated aluminum levels have been implicated as the cause of dialysis encephalopathy or dementia in renal failure patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis [85]. Some patients used aluminum-containing medications. Moreover, patients with renal failure cannot remove aluminum from the blood. Dialysis dementia can arise after three to seven years of hemodialysis treatment. Speech disorders precede dementia and convulsions. Since many hemodialysis units rely on systems to purify fluoridated tap water, it is likely that many patients are being exposed inadvertently to increased concentrations of fluoride and aluminum. Increased serum fluoride concentration and fluoride intoxication have been also observed in chronic hemodialysis patients. Arnow et al. [96] reported that 12 of 15 patients receiving dialysis treatment in one room became acutely ill, with multiple non-specific symptoms and fatal ventricular fibrillation. Death was associated with longer hemodialysis time and increased age compared with other patients who became ill. 

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