CHAMPAIGN – Kidney failure and dialysis treatments can take a big toll on a life.

Could dialysis patients begin to feel better, move better and avoid some other negative health outcomes if they did two things while they're undergoing their treatments – consuming some extra protein and exercising?

University of Illinois researchers hope to answer those questions through a new study that will be undertaken at dialysis clinics in Champaign and Chicago.

The study will be funded by a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, and may be under way as soon as this fall, according to the UI.

Researchers intend to recruit 150 patients in all, with 30 patients per year undergoing a one-year regimen during dialysis: They'll drink a protein beverage and exercise their legs by cycling for about the first 45 minutes of their treatments, said Ken Wilund, the study's principal investigator.

Patients with kidney failure need dialysis treatments to replace the function of healthy kidneys. Dialysis removes waste, salt and extra water that would otherwise build up in the body, It also helps control blood pressure and maintain a safe level of certain chemicals in the blood, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, but it can also be inherited or result from other conditions such as high blood pressure, according to the kidney foundation.

Wilund, a faculty member in the UI Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and Division of Nutritional Sciences, said people with kidney failure cope with many other health problems, among them a high risk of cardiovascular disease and vascular calcification that makes the arteries stiff. Many dialysis patients also become anemic. They lose muscle tissue, their bones weaken and their physical function declines.

Administering protein supplements to patients during dialysis could help replace some amino acids lost in the treatment, and exercising during the treatment could help patients strengthen their muscles, Wilund said.

To make sure it's a good workout, students will work with dialysis patients one-on-one.

The study will be conducted at Champaign-Urbana Dialysis Center at 1405 W. Park St., U, and at a dialysis center in Chicago.

Wilund said he became interested in studying dialysis patients because they get a peculiar form of vascular calcification that makes the arteries as stiff as a bone.

There has been anecdotal evidence that dialysis patients who begin to exercise regain some of the physical function they've lost, but no studies have been done to date to confirm that, he said.

Bo Fernhall and Eddie McAuley of the UI Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and Shane Phillips and Kalyani Perumal of UI-Chicago will be co-investigators on the study, according to the UI.