Accurately Diagnose Renal Dysfunction - Cystatin C, An Excellent Biomarker For Kidney Function

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 17 Apr 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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Cystatin C from Randox is an excellent biomarker for kidney function. This is a protein found in all nucleated cells in the body and is freely filtered by the Glomerular membrane. This makes blood Cystatin C levels a good indicator of Glomerular Filtrate (GFR) function which in turn indicates kidney function.

Existing methods of determining GFR, such as Creatinine, have various disadvantages. Creatinine is the most widely used GFR marker, but this test is influenced by age, gender, race, physical activity, diet and disease. Creatinine from cells is secreted into the bloodstream before reaching the kidneys. In healthy individuals, the GFR function clears creatinine from the blood into urine for removal. High blood serum levels of creatinine suggest kidney dysfunction, but urine creatinine levels also need to be taken to ensure a correct diagnosis. Cystatin C from Randox can overcome these problems. Unlike creatinine, levels are not affected by variables such as age, diet, muscle mass, inflammation and so on. Cystatin C is degraded in renal tubular cells and not secreted by the kidneys, which means that plasma/serum levels are dependent on GFR. As there is no other endogenous source of this protein, there is no need to measure urine levels to get a true GFR estimation.

Cystatin C has many clinical applications, with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke all linked to renal dysfunction. It is a very important marker for renal function in kidney transplant patients and has great significance in monitoring cancer therapeutics. Renal function can be damaged by cancer therapeutics therefore early detection shown through Cystatin C levels would allow the oncologist to adjust the drug dosage, preventing irreversible kidney damage.

Using Cystatin C from Randox offers numerous benefits including an broad measuring range, allowing normal and abnormal values to be measured without any additional dilution, a shelf life of 1 year and a calibration frequency of 7 days. It is liquid stable, requiring no offline preparations. Liquid stable calibrators and QC material are also available providing a complete package, allowing you to consolidate your costs.

Source
Randox Laboratories
55 Diamond Road, Crumlin, Co. Antrim BT29 4QY, United Kingdom

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