Nutrient and Acidity Balances

The balance of filtration at the glomerulus and reabsorption and secretion in the tubules allows the kidneys to maintain homeostasis of extracellular fluid, nutrients and acid-base balance and to excrete drugs and metabolic waste products. 

Amino acids are important components of the elementary nutrients of living organisms. For humans, ten amino acids are essential for existence and must be iagested ia food. The nutritional value of proteias is governed by the quantitative and qualitative balance of iadividual essential amino acids. ... 

Commonly administered LVPs include such products as Lactated Ringers Injection USP, Sodium Chloride Injection USP (0.9%), which replenish fluids and electrolytes, and Dextrose Injection USP (5%), which provides fluid plus nutrition (calories), or various combinations of dextrose and saline. In addition, numerous other nutrient and ionic solutions are available for clinical use, the most popular of which are solutions of essential amino acids or lipid emulsions. These solutions are modified to be hypertonic, isotonic, or hypotonic to aid in maintaining both fluid, nutritional, and electrolyte balance in a particular patient according to need. Indwelling needles or catheters are required in LVP administration. Care must be taken to avoid local or systemic infections or thrombophlebitis owing to faulty injection or administration technique. 

The bulk of clinical studies dealing with nutrient modulation of immune function have dealt with patients suffering from kwashiorkor or marasmus where protein deprivation plays a major role. These studies have pointed to the importance of protein quality as well as quantity in effectiveness indicating the importance of amino acid balance and certain specific amino acids. Recent experiments have concentrated on the use of animal models to define the role of individual essential amino acids in modulating the cell-mediated or... 

The third kind of process is secondary biosynthesis. This provides for the utilization of substrates (and energy) in modes which may be qualitatively similar to those in vegetative growth (e.g., accumulations of normal cell components like triglycerides or citric acid) or entirely different, in which case the variety of products is very great, but in either case the process is regulated more or less inversely to replicatory growth and the balance of nutrients that is required to sustain it is entirely different. Within secondary... 

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