Backgrounds & Aims: Restless leg syndrome is a common sensorimotor disorder characterized by unpleasant sensation in the legs especially during rest and inactivity. This is a common complication among patients with end stage renal disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of folic acid and its comparison with gabapentin in treatment of restless leg syndrome in hemodialysis patients.
Materials & Methods: This study was performed as a double-blind randomized clinical trials study and 30 patients undergoing regularly hemodialysis were selected. All of them had diagnostic criteria developed by international restless leg syndrome study group. The patients were divided randomly into two groups and treated with gabapentin and folic acid for 8 weeks. The severity of syndrome in both of them was evaluated by IRLSSG questionnaire before and after the intervention and eventually information were analyzed by SPSS software.
Results: Paired t-test results showed a significant difference between the mean IRLS before and after taking both drugs. The average IRLS score significantly decreased after taking these drugs. The result of independent t-test did not show significant difference in reduction IRLS score between gabapentin and acid folic (p>0.05). As a result the effect of the two drugs in reducing IRLS score was not significantly different.
Conclusion: Folic acid as a cheap and safe drugs can be used as the main treatment or complement other treatments in hemodialysis patients with RLS.

Keywords: restless leg syndrome, hemodialysis, gabapentin, folic acid

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