No abstract

Nineteen malnourished chronic peritoneal dialysis patients who were ingesting a low protein intake underwent metabolic balance studies to test whether a dialysate that contained amino acids would improve their protein nutrition. Patients lived in the hospital for 35 days while they ate a constant diet and underwent their usual regimen of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The first 15 days served as a Baseline Phase. For the last 20 days, the usual dialysate was substituted with a dialysate of essentially the same composition except that it contained 1.1% essential and nonessential amino acids and no glucose. Patients received one or two dialysate exchanges with amino acids each day depending on the amount necessary to bring the individual's dietary protein plus dialysate amino acid intake to 1.1 to 1.3 g/kg body weight/day. During Baseline, patients were in neutral nitrogen balance; net protein anabolism was positive, as determined from 15N-glycine studies. After commencing intraperitoneal amino acid therapy, nitrogen balance became significantly positive, there was a significant increase in net protein anabolism, the fasting morning plasma amino acid pattern became more normal, and serum total protein and transferrin concentrations rose. Patients generally tolerated the treatment well, although some patients developed mild metabolic acidemia. These findings indicate that a dialysate containing amino acids may improve protein malnutrition in CAPD patients ingesting low protein intakes.

The pharmacokinetics of icodextrin in blood following intraperitoneal administration conforms to a simple, single-compartment model that can be approximated by zero-order absorption and first-order elimination. A small amount of intraperitoneal metabolism of icodextrin occurs but does not contribute significantly to dialysate osmolality. The metabolism of absorbed icodextrin and the resultant rise in plasma levels of small glucose polymers (DP2 to DP4) do not result in hyperglycemia or hyperinsulinemia, but may result in a small decrease in serum sodium and chloride.

No abstract

The addition of HA to peritoneal dialysis solution decreases protein permeability, increases ultrafiltration, and decreases cytokine levels and the proportion of peritoneal neutrophils in dialysate from rats exposed to hypertonic dialysis solution. These results suggest that exogenous HA may help to protect the peritoneal membrane during exposure to dialysis solutions. These benefits, if sustained in the clinical setting, could lead to improvements in the therapy of peritoneal dialysis.