Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) in red blood cells of haemodialysis patients and establish its association with serum levels of iron and zinc and lipid peroxidation.

Materials and Methods: Blood samples of thirty patients (before hameodialysis) were collected to estimate the parameters of the δ-ALA-D activity in red blood cell (RBC), the serum levels of iron, zinc and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and to compare with the thirty blood samples in the control group.

Results: The results showed that the haemodialysis patients had a significant reduction inRBC count, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit compared to the control group (P<0.05). The activity of δ-ALA-D in the red blood cells was significantly increased (P<0.001). The activity of δ-ALA-D in the red blood cells had a significant negative correlation with haematocrit (r=-0.61) and haemoglobin (r=-0.70) in the patients (P<0.05). In addition, there was a significant decrease in the serum iron and zinc levels, but an increase in the TBARS levels (P<0.05). The activity of δ-ALA-D in blood was negatively correlated with the levels of iron (r=-0.68) and zinc (r=-0.57).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the increased activity of δ-ALA-D in blood might have occurred in response to the anaemia in remission as heme synthesis is enhanced.