Plasma neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) is associated with kidney function in uraemic patients before and after kidney transplantation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a biomarker of kidney injury. We examined plasma levels of NGAL in a cohort of 57 kidney allograft recipients (Tx group, 39 ± 13 years), a uraemic group of 40 patients remaining on the waiting list (47 ± 11 years) and a control group of 14 healthy subjects matched for age, sex and body mass index (BMI). The kidney graft recipients were studied at baseline before transplantation and 3 and 12 months after transplantation and the uraemic group at baseline and after 12 months.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>NGAL was measured using a validated in-house Time-Resolved Immuno-flourometric assay (TRIFMA). Repeated measurements differed by < 10% and mean values were used for statistical analyses. Spearman rank order correlation analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test were used to evaluate the association of NGAL concentrations with clinical parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Plasma NGAL levels before transplantation in the Tx and uraemic groups were significantly higher than in the healthy controls (1,251 μg/L, 1,478 μg/L vs. 163 μg/L, p < 0.0001). In the Tx group NGAL concentrations were associated with serum creatinine (R = 0.51, p < 0.0001), duration of end-stage renal failure (R = 0.41, p = 0.002) and leukocyte count (R = 0.29, p < 0.026). At 3 and 12 months plasma NGAL concentrations declined to 223 μg/L and 243 μg/L, respectively and were associated with homocysteine (R = 0.39, p = 0.0051 and R = 0.47, p = 0.0007).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Plasma NGAL is a novel marker of kidney function, which correlates to duration of end-stage renal failure (ESRD) and serum creatinine in uraemic patients awaiting kidney transplantation. Plasma NGAL is associated with homocysteine in transplanted patients. The prognostic value of these findings requires further studies.</p

Osteoprotegerin and mortality in hemodialysis patients with cardiovascular disease

Abstract. Background: Patients treated with hemodialysis (HD) have an increased mortality, mainly caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD). Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a glycoprotein involved in the regulation of the vascular calcification process. Previous studies have demonstrated that OPG is a prognostic marker of mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate if OPG was a prognostic marker of all-cause mortality in high-risk patients with end-stage renal disease and CVD. Methods: We prospectively followed 206 HD patients with CVD. OPG was measured at baseline and the patients were followed for 2 years or until reaching the primary endpoint, i.e., all-cause mortality. Results: All-cause mortality during follow-up was 44% (90/206). High OPG was associated with increased mortality, using the first tertile as reference, with an unadjusted HR of 1.70 (CI 1.00 -2.88) for the second tertile and HR of 1.63 (CI 0.96 -2.78) for the third tertile. In a multivariate Cox-regression analysis age, CRP and OPG in both the second and third tertile were significantly associated with increased mortality. In the unadjusted survival analysis, a test for trend of OPG yielded a p-value of 0.08; in the adjusted analyses, the p-value for trend was 0.03. Conclusions: In a high-risk population of hemodialysis patients with previously documented cardiovascular disease, a high level of OPG was an independent risk marker of all-cause mortality

New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus after Kidney Transplantation in Denmark

Background and objectives: This study aimed to investigate the development of new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) in a prospective study of 97 nondiabetic uremic patients