Uremic pruritus and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor in diabetic and non-diabetic haemodialysis patients

Mirosław Śnit; Katarzyna Nabrdalik; Radosław Gawlik; Grzegorz Wystrychowski; Beata Łącka-Gaździk; Roman Kuźniewicz; Janusz Gumprecht; Tomasz Wielkoszyński; Beata Łabuz-Roszak; Władysław Grzeszczak

doi:10.5114/ada.2019.87707

Uremic pruritus and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor in diabetic and non-diabetic haemodialysis patients

Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2020 Dec;37(6):932-937. doi: 10.5114/ada.2019.87707. Epub 2019 Sep 4.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetology and Nephrology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
³ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pulmonology Hospital, Tarnowskie Góry, Poland.
⁴ Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: Even though uremic pruritus (UP) is very troublesome for haemodialysis (HD) patients, its underlying mechanism is not fully understood.

Aim: Due to the possible role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its higher serum concentration in haemodialysis diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic ones, this study is aimed to evaluate its association with UP among diabetic and non-diabetic patients on maintenance HD.

Material and methods: A total of 94 patients were enrolled into the study. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess pruritus.

Results: No differences were found between the observed study groups in terms of BDNF serum concentration, other biochemical markers, sleep disturbances, or pruritus presentation.

Conclusions: BDNF serum concentration was not found to be associated with UP among HD patients, however further studies are worth performing on a larger group of individuals.

Keywords: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; diabetes mellitus; haemodialysis; pruritus.