The prevalence of malnutrition among chronic hemodialysis patients ranges from 10 to 70%,4 and this malnutrition has frequently been documented in terms of reduction of subcutaneous fat deposits and loss of muscle mass, as assessed using simple anthropometric methods, and in terms of reductions in the levels of body nitrogen, serum albumin, transferrin and other visceral proteins. The gene discussed is ALB; the disease is nutritional deficiency disease.