Inflammation and metabolism in peritoneal dialysis : factors associated with peritoneal function, peritonitis and dialysis solutions

10 Introduction 12 Review of the literature 13 1. Principles of peritoneal dialysis 13 2. Techniques of peritoneal dialysis 13 3. Outcome of peritoneal dialysis 13 4. Assessing peritoneal clearances and function 15 5. Soluble factors in the dialysate 17 6. Dialysis solutions 19 6.1. Glucose as osmotic agent 19 6.2. Icodextrin as osmotic agent 20 6.3. Amino acids as osmotic agent 20 7. Outcome of peritoneal dialysis patients 21 8. Assessing the insulin sensitivity 22 9. Insulin sensitivity and substrate oxidation in peritoneal dialysis patients ......... 23 Aims of the study 24 Materials and methods 25 1. Subjects 25 Part 1. Influence of dialysis adequacy, characteristics of the peritoneal membrane and peritonitis on inflammatory and fibrotic parameters in the dialysate .... 25 1.1. Association of dialysis adequacy and characteristics of the peritoneal membrane with soluble factors in the dialysate, and their changes during a one-year follow-up 25 1.2. Inflammatory parameters during and after peritonitis and their association with the outcome of peritonitis 25 Part 2. Influence of glucose-free dialysis solutions on host defence and on metabolism 26 2. Study designs 26