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Albuminuria as a Biomarker of the Renal Disease

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Biomarkers in Kidney Disease

Abstract

Albuminuria is an early and sensitive marker of kidney damage in diabetic patients, a good predictor of kidney outcome and cardiovascular disease. Screening for albuminuria is important to identify individuals at risk for renal outcome, i.e., developing end-stage renal disease, acute kidney injury, and progressive chronic kidney disease as well as cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in both general and high-risk population (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and older patients). Also, it is the most widely used clinical marker of diabetic nephropathy. The terminology of “early diabetic nephropathy” indicated diabetic subjects with albuminuria. In this early phase of diabetic nephropathy, the glomerular filtration rate is usually well preserved. In patients with several cardiovascular risks, albuminuria is predicting outcome, even below the level to be taken as normal. It seems that the pathophysiologic mechanisms linking albuminuria to cardiovascular and renal risk are generalized loss of vascular endothelial function in organs. Furthermore, albuminuria can be used as a target for treatment for primary and secondary prevention of renal and cardiovascular disease development. ACE inhibition in subjects with nondiabetic albuminuria may prevent future cardiovascular events. Measurement of albuminuria can help to determine whether or not the patient with hypertension should be treated, how aggressively they should be treated, and what medications we should treat them with.

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Abbreviations

ACR:

Albumin-to-creatinine ratio

CKD:

Chronic kidney disease

eGFR:

Estimated glomerular filtration rate

ESRD:

End-stage renal disease

RAAS:

Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system

RRT:

Renal replacement therapy

UAER = UAE:

Urinary albumin excretion rate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica 8, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Visnja Lezaic

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  1. Visnja Lezaic
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Correspondence to Visnja Lezaic .

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  1. DeptofBiomedlSci,FacltyofSci&Technology, University of Westminster , London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics,Division of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Life Science and Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

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Lezaic, V. (2016). Albuminuria as a Biomarker of the Renal Disease. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V. (eds) Biomarkers in Kidney Disease. Biomarkers in Disease: Methods, Discoveries and Applications. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7699-9_31

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