Concentration of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND

The inclining incidence of chronic kidney disease which has led to high mortality and immense medical burden over the past decades has become a distressing concern in epidemiology. Unfortunately, the number of biomarkers that allow the monitoring of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is limited. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is an emerging biomarker which has been shown to be able to diagnose kidney injuries.

METHODS

Eighty-one nondiabetic patients with chronic kidney disease, stage 2 to 5, were recruited for this study, and 17 healthy volunteers with eGFR greater than 90 mL/minute/1.73m(2) were selected as the control group.

RESULTS

Our study demonstrated that the pNGAL level is elevated during CKD, and the pNGL level has a strong correlation with the concentration of sCr and eGFR.

CONCLUSIONS

Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin is a potent tool in the diagnosis of chronic kidney diseases and is shown to have high correlation with serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate.