Objectives:Uremic pruritus is a common problem in hemodialysis patients. Several treatments have been used for decreasing itching in these patients. Gabapentin and ketotifen are two drugs used for treating uremic patients. The aim of this study was to compare gabapentin and ketotifen in treatment of uremic pruritus in hemodialysis patients.Methods:In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 52 hemodialysis patients with uremic pruritus referred to 5azarTeaching Hospital in Gorgan in 2013 were studied. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups of 26 subjects (groups G and K). In group G, patients treated with gabapentin capsules 100 mg daily for 2 weeks, and in Group K, patients treated with ketotifen 1 mg twice daily for 2 weeks. Before and at the end of study, pruritus severity was determined based on Shiratori’s severity scores. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS-21 statistical software.Results:There was no significant different between two groups in the age and sex. After two weeks of treatment, severity of pruritus was significantly reduced in both groups (88.4% in group G vs. 76.9% in group K). Gabapentin compared with ketotifen had a better effect on improving itching in the age group of 30-60 years and in males. 5 patients (19.2%) in both groups suffered from drowsiness and dizziness, but no serious side effects were observed.Conclusions:The results showed that gabapentin and ketotifen significantly improved pruritus in hemodialysis patients, and no significant difference was observed between two groups.

Background: Decreased bone mass, often measured using bone mineral density (BMD) is frequently seen in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis. It may cause serious bone health problems such as fractures. Several risk factors of low bone mass in the patients on hemodialysis have been proposed including age and body mass index (BMI). Our current study explored the relationship between BMI, age, sociodemographic status, and BMD among postmenopausal women on hemodialysis. Methods: This study enrolled postmenopausal women on hemodialysis whose bone densitometry was checked and assessed with the age, BMI, and social status. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS software. Results: Sixty participants with a mean ± standard deviation (SD) of age of 57.00 ± 10.63 years were enrolled. After adjustment of sex and age, normal-weight women had 2 times the prevalence of low bone density compared to the obese women [prevalence ratio (PR) = 2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4–2.8]. For osteoporosis, the PR was also twice higher for the women with normal BMI (PR = 2, 95% CI: 1.3-2.8) and 1.6 times higher for the overweight group than the women in the obese group (PR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.3-2.4). Conclusion: Among the women on hemodialysis, obese women have lower prevalence of osteoporosis than normal-weight cases.

Background: Diabetic kidney injury (DKI), a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and a risk factor for the cardiovascular events, is affected by many metabolic factors, including dyslipidemia. This study investigated the relationship between serum lipid levels and DKI in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Gorgan, north of Iran. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 218 patients with T2DM in two groups with and without DKI as case and control groups, respectively. A questionnaire was used to gather demographic information, and the necessary laboratory results, such as fasting serum lipid levels, urine albumin, fasting plasma glucose, and serum creatinine, were also assessed. For group comparison, the Mann-Whitney test, Fisher's exact test, and Chi-square test were used. Results: The results of this study did not show any statistically significant relationship between DKI and serum lipid levels (p>0.05). However, DKI was associated with age, duration of DM, type of glucose-lowering drugs, and body mass index (BMI) (p≤0.05). Discussion and Conclusions: DKI is not significantly related to the serum lipid levels in the patients with T2DM, but older age, longer duration of DM, insulin-indicated hyperglycemia, and lower BMI are associated with it. Therefore, further attention to each of the associated factors may be helpful in the earlier detection of DKI in patients with T2DM.