Another interesting article about NGAL as a marker for AKI, from the University of Liege
NGAL biomarqueur de lésion rénale
Docteur at Hospital du Nord in Saint Etienne France Amandine Gagneux-Brunon and Belgian Docteurs at the University of Liege , Pierre Delanaye, Delphine LeGrand, Etienne Cavalier and Christophe Mariat have made an interesting article about the potential of NGAL (as usual) . They adress the problem of a the various Thresholds (Cutoffs)
The conclusion however is this: At present, the analytical performance of the commercially kits is better and more precise in urine than in blood. (my comment – Read and weep Alere) It might be wise to integrate these assays in clinical algorithms (or use them in combination with other biomarkers of acute renal damage) to increase the diagnostic performance. The real question is whether it NGAL provides added value compared to simple or less expensive traditional markers such as serum creatinine (or even cystatin C) But – Further studies are needed…
I have only the french transcript – and my french is a bit rusty – so it will take some time for me to digest it (my medical french is even more rusty than my everyday vocabulary) – but take a look at it yourself: The article
an interesting quote: Large multicenter studies to further define the predictive role of plasma and urine NGAL as a member of the putative AKI panel have been initiated, robust assays for commercialization are nearly complete, and the results are awaited with optimism.
from : http://www.academypublish.org/papers/pdf…