The Power of Protein: nPCR as a Measure of Nitrogen Balance in Hemodialysis Patients Introduction to Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined as the slow loss of kidney function over time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 1 in 10 adults, or over 20 million people, in the United States currently have CKD. The disease is categorized into five stages which are ranked by severity, the last of which is called End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). There is no cure for ESRD, so these patients depend on renal replacement therapy, either in the form of dialysis or a kidney transplant. In 2011 alone, more than 113,000 patients in the U.S. started undergoing maintenance dialysis treatments.