International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 1 Vol.3; Issue: 3; March 2013 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Original Research Article The Effect of High Casein Diet on the Histology and Function of Rat Kidney AlJazi bin Zaraah 1 , Ali K Osman 1 , Raeesa Abdultawab Mohammed 2 , Saada Al Orf 1 , Asim A Siddiqui 1 , Fozia Khan 1* 1 Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, PO Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 2 Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia * Correspondence Email: foz_k76@yahoo.com Received: 29/01//2013 Revised: 27/02/2013 Accepted: 05/03/2013 ABSTRACT The obesity epidemic is on the rise and due to the current obesity problem; effective weight loss treatment is of importance and recent studies have shown that a short term treatment with increased dietary protein intake and reduced carbohydrate is more effective but there are concerns of the effects of high protein intake on kidney health, especially in the elderly population. Different proteins affect the progression of renal damage both in the renal ablation models and in human renal diseases differently. Till date very few studies have been done to study the role of high protein intake in the development of renal damage in rat models. This study was designed to assess the effects of high protein intake on the renal function and histological structure of the kidney in male Wistar Albino rats. The animals on high protein diet had significantly higher levels of urea in serum and urine, uric acid, creatinine, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, total protein and albumin compared to the control group. Histological and electron microscopic examinations of rat kidneys revealed degenerated epithelial nuclei with extensive degeneration of mitochondria. These results suggest that a high protein diet for even a short period of time can cause significant degeneration of epithelial nuclei and serious alteration in the levels of serum and urine biochemical parameters and normal renal histology. Keywords: High protein diet, Kidney function, renal damage. INTRODUCTION Chronic kidney disease remains an important public health threat globally; secondary to the incidence of diabetes and hypertension, also the most common cause of kidney disease. (1) While it is certainly important that we include a balanced intake of protein in our diet, too much protein could have adverse health effects. Previous studies have shown that the quality of protein present in diet affects the progression of renal damage both in the renal ablation models and in human renal diseases (2, 3) which could partially explain the sudden increase in the global incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) over the last 3 decades worldwide. (4) The growing proportion of the elderly population also accounts for the total increase in the number of patients admitted for renal replacement