The metabolic disturbances in glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency (von Gierke's disease) are the consequence of hypoglycemia, occurring mostly during the night. Continuous provision of glucose is the aim of every recently introduced treatment procedure. We studied the influence of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) on the metabolic disturbances in a 42-year-old female patient with von Gierke's disease and end-stage renal disease. During six months of CAPD, there were no dialysis-related complications. The metabolic acidosis didn't worsen: arterial bicarbonate and lactate were not changed. Mean glycemia was 118.6 +/- 14.4 mg%. Total lipemia, cholesterol and triglycerides were not different from those before CAPD, despite the fact that all hypolipidaemic drugs were stopped. Three different exchange procedures were compared during the night: no dialysis, one exchange with a 2 L solution without buffer containing glucose 15 g/L and containing glucose 42.5 g/L. The results show that the 4.25% glucose solution prevents hypoglycaemia, and diminishes the increase in lactate and pyruvate concentration. Intraperitoneal glucose normalizes the plasma free fatty acid concentration. A very important result is the disappearance of hypo-insulinism. We conclude that, from a clinical point of view, CAPD is a well-tolerated treatment in von Gierke's disease. The limited results provide some evidence that the use of a 4.25% glucose solution as an overnight exchange, instead of the usual 1.5% solution, can prevent at least partly the glycogenolysis and consequently the metabolic disturbances of von Gierke's disease.

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