Kidney injury in arterial hypertension: can we trust the old markers?

Abstract

Given the high prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) at the present time, as well as a number of shortcomings of traditional parameters of kidney function estimation, in the last few years more and more attention is paid to the search for new renal injury markers for earlier and accurate diagnosis of the onset of CKD. This paper reviews the available evidence on traditional markers of renal injury in comparison with the new biochemical markers, reflecting mainly tubulointerstitial kidney injury that occurs in the earlier stages of kidney disease. Moreover, we discuss the potential of a number of biomarkers, such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, kidney injury molecule‑1, cystatin C, and liver fatty acid binding protein for early diagnosis of both acute and chronic kidney disease, including hypertensive nephropathy.