According to a study by the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC), a combination of aspirin and the anti-platelet drug dipyridamole has been shown to reduce blockages and extend the life of hemodialysis access grafts.  The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Arteriovenous (AV) grafts can fail due to the narrowing of blood vessels.  A blocked graft cannot be used for dialysis.  Researchers found the combination treatment decreased the rate of loss of use by 18 percent. 

This article originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of Renal Flash.