In our center, 42 elderly patients started a very-low-protein diet (VLPD: 0.3 g of protein/kg body weight), supplemented with a mixture of keto acids and amino acids when their creatinine clearance reached values usually considered as a parameter for starting dialysis. The survival of this group of patients was compared with that of 71 patients directly put onto dialysis with the same creatinine clearance at which we started the VLPD. Subsequently, 24 patients in the diet group started dialysis when their mean GFR was 3.9 ml/min, i.e. lower than the 7 ml/min usually considered adequate in PD patients and much lower than 9-14 ml/min suggested by the NKF-DOQI group.