Urea index and nitrogen balance in uremic patients on miminal nitrogen intakes.

Normal anduremic subjects were studied on different protein intakes. The uremic patients were also given minimal amounts of nitrogen in the form of 8 essential amino acids, with or without the addition of histidine. It was noticed that as little as 416 mg of essential amino acid nitrogen was sufficient to cover body needs if enough non-essential nitrogen was present. It was also demonstrated that on low-nitrogen intakes, the ratio of urinary urea to total urinary nitrogen varied with nitrogen balance.