The plasma lipid pattern was investigated in 103 dialysis patients and 66 renal transplant patients. Only 32 percent of dialysed patients and 30 percent of transplanted patients had a normal lipid pattern. In other patients the most frequent disorder with hypertriglyceridaemia, and less frequently combined or isolated hypercholesterolaemia. Since these lipid abnormalities are known to predispose to an accelerated atherosclerosis, a dietetic therapeutic approach was tried. Fifteen transplanted patients with severe hypertriglyceridaemia were submitted to a hypocaloric (1700 kcal) and low carbohydrate (130 g) diet. During dieting the plasma lipid pattern was normalised and maintained in a normal range for the period of observation (3-12 months).