A new study published in Kidney & Blood Pressure Research was on the changes of serum interleukin-6 (IL6) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) concentrations during dialysis sessions, and at 12 month intervals; and the synthesis of these cytokines in arterial endothelial cells in the presence of serum obtained from dialyzed patients. This study recruited a group of 30 uremic patients treated with hemodialysis. Changes of the inflammatory reaction during 12 months of treatment were correlated with GFR. It was found that at baseline, hemodialysis induced an increase of serum IL6 and HGF levels at the end of the session. After 12 months of treatment pre-dialysis serum IL6 level was increased, but no change in serum HGF level was observed. At that time the dialysis-induced rise of serum IL6 level was stronger than at the start, but the observed effect for HGF was weaker. In addition, an inverse correlation was observed between the dialysis-induced increase of HGF level and decrease of GFR after 12 months of study. The same relation was seen for HGF synthesis in the endothelium, but opposite for IL6 synthesis in the endothelium. Thus, the results exhibited that a higher HGF serum level during hemodialysis treatment is associated with a slower loss of residual renal function.