Background & Objectives: Cardiovascular events are among the most common causes of mortality in patients with end stage renal disease. Caediac biomarkers such as troponins are very sensitive in diagnosing heart problems. Troponin I can be used to diagnose acute cardiovascular problems in hemodialysis patients.

 Methods: In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study the level of troponin I was measured in 39 hemodialysis patients using ELISA method and BUN, Cr and Hb level before hemodialysis. LVH and LVMI were determined by echocardiography. The data were analyzed using SPSS.

 Results: The patients were 52.92 years old on average. 26 patients were male and 13 female. The average of tropnin I was 0.78 μ g/l. There was no meaningful relationship between troponin I and LV MI, age and sex. However, a significant relationship was found between the level of troponin I with EF and diastolic dysfunction (p=0.05).

 Conclusion: Troponin I can be regarded as an indicator of LV dysfunction.

 Background and Objectives: Familial Mediterranean fever which is the prototype of the hereditary periodic fever syndromes is common in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Regarding the geographical position of the northwest of Iran, having Turkish originality and its vicinity to the Mediterranean Sea , the incidence of this disease is significant in Ardabil. The goal of this study was to introduce Familial Mediterranean Fever as a disease with significant outbreak in this area.

 Methods: This research is a descriptive study which has been done during one year from October 2004 to October 2005. According to the Tel-Hashomer criteria, the patients suffering from Familial Mediterranean Fever were collected from private clinics and pediatric rheumatology clinics records. Then from 112 patients only 74 ones were studied. All of the patients were interviewed and filled out a questionnaire.

 Results: Familial Mediterranean fever is common among children under 18 (76%) and more common in male than female. Abdominal pain has been the most common complaint (74%) and abdominal pain and fever (95% and 84% respectively) were the main clinical symptoms. The most common period of pain was 12-72 hours and the common recovery (attack free) period was from 1 week to 1 month (63/5%). Majority of the patients had hospital admission for diagnostic work up (85%) and some of them (32%) had been under surgical operation mistakenly. On the whole 92% of the patients had taken medications as a result of wrong diagnosis and 20% had positive familial history. 50% of the patients' parents were first degree relatives and in 59.5% delay in diagnosis was more than 3 years.

 Conclusion: Results of this study and introduction of this group of patients in a one-year research indicate that: Familial Mediterranean Fever is more common in the Northwest of Iran although physicians are not familiar with that. The common age for manifestation of this disease is under 18 and its presentation after the age of 40 is very rare.

  Background & Objectives: Hypertension is one of the major factors of cardiovascular diseases among hemodialysis patients which shoes its effect along with vascular changes. 75-80% of the patients with ESRD are hypertensive. Despite many available druge to decrease the blood pressure, many of these patients remain hypertensive. The major cause Of Hypertension is the increase in the blood volume which is due to the water and salt retention in the body. It doesn't seem that the uptake of body's fluid for a short period can have a remarkable effect on the pressure.

  Methods: This descriptive analytic study was done on 80 hemodialysis patients who were under trearment at Buali hospital. First patients were investigated according to age, sex, frequency of dialysis in the week and dialysis duration. These for each patient the blood pressure before and during dialysis and weight changes before and after dialysis with two consectiue sessions were measured. Calculated and MAP was determined. Finally data was analyzed through SPSS.

  Results: 48 out of 74 patients (64.9%) had hypertension. Blood pressure was controlled in 41 patients (55.4%). Age, sex, dialysis period and sessions of dialysis did not have a significant relationship with hypertension control. The study showed a high prevalence of high blood pressure in hemodialysis patients (64.9%). The blood pressure was not controlled in the majority of patients (44.6%).

  Conclusion: Patients' weight changes have no significant effect on hypertension. This shows that the causes for blood pressure can be due to other causes different from increase in the blood volume among hemodialysis patients and perhaps the chronic blood volume increase is not related to hypertension.

  Background & Objectives: Several evidences show that oxidative stress is high among patients with hemodialysis . This study was aimed to investigate the oxidative stress and serum level of zinc and copper in patients with non-diabetic hemodialysis .

  Methods: In a case-control study, 60 patients with non-diabetic hemdialysis referred to hemodialysis section, Ardabil Bou-Ali hospital, and 60 healthy individuals, matched by age and sex, were selected. In each group, lipid profile, blood glucose, creatinine, urea, total protein, albumin, zinc, copper, malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, activity of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were measured. The results were analyzed statistically by using Pearson correlation coefficient and Student-t test.

  Results: The amount of zinc, blood sugar, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, high density lipoprotein-C and low density lipoprotein-C were significantly lower in patients with hemodialysis in comparison with those in normal individuals. T he activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase in red blood cells and serum total antioxidant capacity were significantly high in patients in comparison with those in control group. However, serum concentrations of copper and malondialdehyde in two groups were not statistically different.

  Conclusion : The results of this study show that increase of antioxidant enzymes activity reduces the oxidative stress status in patients with non-diabetic hemodialysis . Zinc deficiency was also observed in these patients.