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.