PRURITUS AND HLA IN HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

Abstract

Pruritus is a common problem among hemodialysis (HD) patients, and the etiopathogenesis of uremic pruritus is still unclear. This study evaluated the relationships between pruritus and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types in individuals on HD. Seventy‐nine HD patients (32 females and 47 males; mean age: 38.76±14.04 years; age range: 9–70 years) were studied. The HD duration in the group ranged from 9 to 142 months (mean: 52.53±32.48 months). Subjects were assigned to one of two groups, one with pruritus (n=45) and one without pruritus (n=34). Demographic and laboratory parameters were compared in patients with and without pruritus. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to age, sex, or HD duration. There were also no significant differences in the groups' serum levels of Hb, ferritin, BUN, creatinine, Ca, P, PTH, uric acid, AST, ALT, GGT, total bilirubin and ALP (P>0.05 for all). There were also no differences between the two groups according to the presence of HbsAg and anti‐HCV (P>0.05). The frequency of the HLA‐B35 allele was significantly higher in the pruritus group than in the group without pruritus (P<0.05). The pruritus group also had higher frequencies of HLA‐A3 and ‐DR4, but these differences were not significant (P>0.05). The results of this preliminary study indicate that the HLA‐B35 antigen may contribute to pruritus in HD patients. Further studies are needed to clarify the role that the HLA system plays in pruritus in this patient group.