Joe Cosgrove leads as chairman, president, and CEO of Pentec Health, a pharmaceutical company that stands out as the developer of the PROPLETE nutritional solution. Under Joe Cosgrove's direction, Pentec Health has delivered PROPLETE to many dialysis patients suffering from protein deficiency.
When the kidneys fail, they lose their ability to process many of the proteins that the body needs. The human body needs approximately 10 amino acids that it cannot produce on its own. These are known as essential amino acids, and they also contribute to the building blocks of another 10 amino acid types. When a patient with kidney disease ingests protein, however, his or her body does not process ingested protein properly and the body cannot access the amino acids it needs.
Dialysis helps to remove the waste buildup that leaves the patient too ill to ingest the protein that he or she needs. However, the dialysis itself causes additional protein loss and does not mitigate the metabolism changes of kidney disease that break down proteins improperly. Dialysis may also lead to a reduced appetite and a change in the way food tastes, which can make it difficult for patients to eat normally. In these cases, many patients benefit from intradialytic nutritional supplements.
