Amino acids and ketoacids--advantages and pitfalls.

The work provides a critical evaluation of current knowledge on the use of ketoacids and essential amino acids in patients with chronic renal failure. It is demonstrated that there are not enough data to support any positive benefits of ketoacids over essential amino acids. On the contrary, data on nitrogen balance in children and weight increments in infants clearly indicate that essential amino acids are preferable to ketoacids. Research on ketoacids should be better designed particularly with regard to controlling calorie intake, performing comparisons with isonitrogenous diets, and evaluating interactions of drugs and these diets.