Key Protein Predicts Need for Dialysis After Kidney Transplant

By Forbes.com Staff
May 5, 2006

Levels of a specific protein biomarker may help doctors spot kidney transplant patients who will need dialysis within a week of receiving a new organ, U.S. researchers report.

Previous research found that the protein, called neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), could be used to predict kidney failure in patients who'd had heart surgery.

This new study of 53 kidney transplant patients found that the lower the NGAL value, the faster the recovery period. The higher the NGAL value, the longer the recovery period and the greater the risk for developing kidney failure, the researchers found.

"These patients have been struggling with kidney failure for a long time, and even after they get a transplant, they can still get into trouble. Prior to these studies on NGAL, we did not have an objective tool to determine immediate post-operative patient outcomes," study author Dr. Prasad Devarajan, director of the nephrology and hypertension division at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.

Currently, there is no diagnostic test for early prediction of kidney failure following kidney transplantation. Doctors can check a patient's serum creatinine levels, but this is an unreliable indicator during acute kidney injury and doesn't reflect the degree of kidney damage until a steady state has been reached, which may take several days, the authors noted.

"It is important to try and improve the outcome for kidney transplant patients. We believe NGAL and IL-18 will lead to new diagnostic tools to identify patients who will need additional therapies," Devarajan said.

The study appears in the current issue of American Journal of Transplantation.