Weight-Lifting During Maintenance Dialysis Counteracts Muscle Wasting

Weight-lifting during dialysis counteracts muscle wasting in end-stage renal disease (ESRD), according to the results of a randomized controlled trial reported in the April issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. "Skeletal muscle wasting is common and insidious in patients who receive maintenance hemodialysis treatment for the management of ESRD," write Bobby Cheema, from the School of Exercise and Sport Science, University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues. "The objective of this study was to determine whether 12 [weeks] of high-intensity, progressive resistance training (PRT) administered during routine hemodialysis treatment could improve skeletal muscle quantity and quality versus usual care."At the outpatient hemodialysis unit of the St. George Public Hospital in Sydney, 49 dialysis patients were recruited and randomized to PRT + usual care (n = 24) or usual care only (n = 25). Mean age was 62.6 ± 14.2 years; mean duration of dialyis treatment was 0.3 to 16.7 years. During routine hemodialysis treatment, the PRT group performed 2 sets of 10 exercises at a high intensity (15 to 17 out of 20 on the Borg Scale) using free weights, 3 times per week for 12 weeks