Headache is one of the most frequently encountered neurological symptoms during hemodialysis. According to International Classification of Headache criteria dialysis-related headache was defined as the headache occurring during hemodialysis with no specific characteristic. It resolves spontaneously within 72 hours after the hemodialysis session ends. There are few studies in the literature investigating the clinical features of dialysis headache. The pathophysiology of hemodialysis-related headache is not known, but various triggering factors have been identified, including changes in blood pressure, serum sodium and magnesium levels during hemodialysis sessions, caffeine deprivation and stress. The aim of this article is to evaluate and analyze features of headache in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

This is the first study that analyzes occult HBV prevalence in CAPD patients. We conclude that the prevalence of the occult HBV may be common in CAPD patients as in HD patients, and HCV positivity is not a contributing factor to occult HBV infection in dialysis patients.

The urinary excretions of Pyr and DPyr are higher in diabetic subjects than in healthy controls, suggesting the presence of increased bone turnover in diabetic patients, but we could not observe any negative effect of childhood diabetes on BMD. These results may suggest that diabetic patients are at risk for a decreased peak bone mass.

Low urine ghrelin levels might be relevant to pathogenesis of doxorubicin-induced NS. The reduction in urine ghrelin levels might also be associated with increased levels of urine sCTLA4 and sCD80 which reflect proteinuria.

Purpose: Cardiovascular diseases are the main causes of morbidity and mortality in children with end-stage renal disease and the relationships among several relevant potential biomarkers were investigated in pediatric peritoneal dialysis patients. Methods: Serum homocysteine, von Willebrand factor (vWF), apolipoproteins A and B, lipoprotein-a, high sensitive-CRP, hemoglobin, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were measured in 21 pediatric peritoneal dialysis patients and control subjects. Results: All risk factors were higher in patients than controls. LVMI values were negatively correlated with hemoglobin and positively correlated with PTH and phosphorus levels (p=0.007, r= - 0.573; p=0.013, r= 0.532 and p=0.035, r= 0.461, respectively). cIMT was negatively associated with serum albumin and positively correlated with vWF levels and with SBP and DBP (p=0.006, r= - 0.578; p=0.039, r= 0.453; p=0.02, r= 0.503; p=0.024, r= 0.491, respectively). Robust regression analyses showed that hemoglobin was an independent predictor of LVMI and serum albumin was an independent predictor of cIMT. Conclusion: Only uremia-related factors were independent risk factors for predicting LVMI and cIMT. Hemoglobin level may be a critical factor in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy; therefore, effective treatment of anemia is crucial. Low serum albumin and high hsCRP and vWF levels, and their correlations with cIMT, indicate these patients could be at risk of developing malnutrition–inflammation–atherosclerosis syndrome and suggest that serum albumin and vWF levels may be useful markers for early detection of vascular damage.