Protein may predict disease progression

Italian researchers have found blood or urine levels of a protein may predict kidney disease progression.

The study, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology, suggests a small protein released from the kidney’s injured tubular cells — called Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin — could help identify patients in need of more aggressive care because their chronic kidney disease is likely to advances to a more serious form.

The investigators evaluated the blood and urine levels of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin in 96 patients with non-terminal chronic kidney disease. By the end of the year-and-a-half study, 31 patients experienced significant progression of their disease — in some cases developing end-stage renal disease.

The researchers noted that at the start of the study, the patients who developed advanced disease had had higher Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin levels than patients whose disease did not progress. Both urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and blood Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin levels predicted worsening of chronic kidney disease.

Our study offers a great new tool for prevention of renal failure progression, study leader Dr. Michele Buemi of the University of Messina in Italy said in a statement. The results are particularly important today as chronic kidney disease has become a severe public health problem and incidence rates continue to rise.