PhD Ioannis Papassotirio has published an interesting Article When to determine NGAL (Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin) levels in Plasma and/or in Urine.
As Dr Papassotirio points out, a rise in NGAL levels is also seen in connection with other conditions – apart from AKI.
the key quote from the article is this; Provocatively proposed as “the troponin of the kidney”, several reliable clues have now been gathered that the current assessment of NGAL by commercial methods is anything but specific for renal injury as yet. Undeniably, the introduction of NGAL brought valuable gains for early diagnosis of AKI, but yet this enigmatic protein is far from being considered “the” ideal biomarker.
I agree – or rather I agree in-as-much, as you have to see a significant rise in NGAL levels in order to determine whether the patient suffers from AKI or not. Hence the proposed cut-off value by BioPort 250 ng/ml which effectively discriminates between AKI-related NAGL and not AKI-related NGAL-levels.
http://www.aacc.org/members/nacb/NACBBlog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=99
