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Ineffectiveness of dietary protein augmentation in the management of the nephrotic syndrome

  • Nutrition Review Article
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Abstract

The nephrotic syndrome is a consequence of altered permselectivity of the glomerular basement membrane resulting in urinary losses of albumin and other serum proteins. Although dietary protein augmentation increases albumin synthesis, it has not been shown to increase serum albumin or muscle protein. Dietary protein was increased from 8.5% to 21% in pair-fed rats with Heymann nephritis and resulted in an increase both in albumin synthesis and urinary albumin excretion, but not in serum albumin concentration or in total albumin pools. The increase in dietary protein was 8 times greater than the resulting increase in urinary protein excretion, but nearly all of the additional ingested protein was catabolized to urea and excreted in the urine rather than used to augment growth. Dietary supplementation with protein has no obvious beneficial effect on nutritional status of nephrotic rats.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of California Davis School of Medicine, 94 553, Davis, CA, USA

    Hamoudi Al-Bander & George A. Kaysen

  2. Renal Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 150 Muir Road, 94 553, Martinez, CA, USA

    Hamoudi Al-Bander & George A. Kaysen

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  1. Hamoudi Al-Bander
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  2. George A. Kaysen
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Al-Bander, H., Kaysen, G.A. Ineffectiveness of dietary protein augmentation in the management of the nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol 5, 482–486 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01453686

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01453686

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