Inflammation in end-stage renal disease--what have we learned in 10 years?

The first reports connecting uremic inflammation with a wasted and atherogenic phenotype and poor outcome initiated in the late 1990s. Since then, about 3500 publications appear on Medline, reflecting the exponential interest that this topic has evoked in nephrology. What was described as a "novel" risk factor 10 years ago has now evolved into an established finding in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The purpose of this review is to summarize the main advances contributing to our current understanding of the complex inflammatory processes present in ESRD. Causes and consequences of inflammation, genetic heritability of the inflammatory response, implications on outcome prognostication, and contemporary therapeutic evidence are some of the various topics discussed.