More frequent hemodialysis sessions might improve the health of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but under reasonable assumptions of expected benefit, the overall costs are likely to increase, according to a study appearing in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

Consistently maintaining certain blood levels of markers of bone metabolism and disease can prolong the lives of patients on hemodialysis, according to a study appearing in the September 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

Central venous catheters are commonly used to provide permanent hemodialysis for patients with serious kidney disease. One technique, inserting a catheter through large vessels, has been commonly used worldwide in recent years.

Patients who received hemodialysis at night six times a week for treatment of end-stage kidney disease had improvements on certain outcomes, including reduced need for blood pressure medications and improvement in selected quality of life measures, compared to patients who received conventional hemodialysis three times weekly, according to an article in the September 19 issue of JAMA.