PhD defence W.J. (Wesley) Visser

Brief summary of the doctoral thesis:

The thesis is divided into 2 parts:

Part 1: 
Nutritional status. In chapter 2 we found that hemodialysis patients lose a lot of muscle mass and muscle strength. Chapter 3 shows that at group level fat-free mass can be well determined using bioimpedance compared with CT scan. In a simulation calculation, we found that protein requirements are also best determined on fat-free mass. In chapter 4, we found that body composition plays a role in determining the optimal dose of tacrolimus after kidney transplantation. 

Part 2: 
Dietary interventions. In chapter 5 and 6, we looked at the effect of salt restriction in both patients with kidney failure and oncological patients. In both groups, we found that salt restriction is effective in prevention and treatment of hypertension. In chapter 7, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of metabolic acidosis on nutritional status; we found that correcting is beneficial for muscle mass and muscle function. In addition, we wrote an expert opinion paper on parenteral nutrition during dialysis and 2 chapters devoted to oxalic acid around kindey transplantation in which we found that an oxalic acid restricted diet has beneficial effects on plasma oxalic acid concentration and thus on transplant outcomes.