A very low-protein, mostly vegetarian diet, appears to allow patients to put off starting dialysis for an average of a year. It won't cure renal disease, but does slow it down enough to buy patients a little grace period. A recent Johns Hopkins study found that the diet works, when supplemented with amino acid tablets. Lead author Dr. Mackenzie Walser admits the results go against today's trend towards starting dialysis sooner. But he argues that any delay is merciful.
Dialysis is pretty bad news.
It's something you'd like to delay as long as possible. Suicide is a major cause of death amongst dialysis patients. It's not an attractive prospect for most people. Once the dialysis process begins, the mortality rate for patients is still nearly 25 per cent. At the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, I'm Tom Haederle reporting.