ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin, a tubular stress protein in the urine of diagnosed cases of SLE with and without lupus nephritis
Study design: Cross sectional analytical study
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry and Chemical Pathology, Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore from January 2015 to January 2016
Materials and methods: Including a total of 84 subjects, 42 cases were SLE without renal involvement and 42 cases were diagnosed cases of SLE with lupus nephritis. The diagnosis of lupus nephritis was established on the basis of renal biopsy
Results: This study revealed that the nephritis group had increased levels of uNGAL along with increased serum creatinine, increased urinary albumin creatinine ratio and decreased creatinine clearance [CG Formula] ascompared to systemic lupus erythematosus patients without having lupus nephritis [p Value <0.05]
Conclusion: These findings clearly indicate that uNGAL levels correlate strongly with the renal components of the disease activity. Thus, it can be stated that uNGAL can prove to be a noninvasive, reliable and sensitive biomarker to diagnose cases of lupus nephritis