Albumin

• Albumin is a protein produced in the liver that moves around in the blood, responsible for maintaining proper pressure between the various fluids in the bloodstream and the surrounding tissues. It plays a role in transporting fatty acids, hormones and medications in the blood. Under normal circumstances, proteins are not allowed into the urine because the glomerulus (part of the kidney nephron which filters fluid from the blood) prevents large molecules (like proteins) to pass through and would retain proteins in the blood rather than excrete them out.
• The albumin urine test is a measure of the albumin level in the urine, used primarily to evaluate kidney (renal) function.
• Microalbuminuria refers to a small amount of albumin. Proteinuria refers to a large amount of albumin present in urine.
• Other causes of abnormal levels of albumin in the urine could be due to a fever, very strenuous exercise or exposure to cold. Such abnormalities should return to normal values.
• Studies have found that the excretion of albumin in urine is the best predictor of progressive kidney failure in people with Type 2 diabetes. Also, a high level of urine albumin could signal the development of heart disease.
  Source : Robert Nelson et al “Development and Progression of Renal Disease in Pima Indians with Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus” New England Journal of Medicine (Nov, 1996) 335:1636-1642
  [Note : Pima Indians were the world’s highest number of Type 2 diabetics and 20 times more end-stage renal disease than the general population in America]

• Very high levels of albumin in the urine will indicate that the kidney is failing and can no longer be of service. Low levels of albumin in the blood indicate liver disorders such as cirrhosis, severe hepatitis or an injury that has affected the liver’s ability to produce albumin.

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