Albumin In Urine During Pregnancy

Albumin In Urine During Pregnancy

Albumin is a carrier protein of the human body. It is created in the liver and is

 used to transport lipids and fat soluble molecules through the water-based 

environment of the blood. Without this molecule, many vitamins and essential

 fats would never reach their intended destination cells. Albumin’s role in disease

 mostly involves the indications of some kinds of heart disease and a predisposition

 for a stroke. In addition to this, there is the occurrence of a condition called 

albuminuria. This is an abnormal state in which albumin is excreted in the urine. 

This normally does not happen because the cells of the kidneys called podocytes

 act like a sieve that only allow very simple molecules to pass and ensure that

 red blood cells and bigger molecules like albumin stay in the blood stream. 

Therefore, if albuminuria occurs, it is a sign of kidney failure. However, this is not

 absolute and in some situations albuminuria can occur even without overt 

indications of kidney disease.

One of these conditions is albuminuria during
pregnancy. 

There are two possibilities here.

 Albumin levels in 

the serum can suddenly drop 

during pregnancy and 

this is a condition caused by 

hemodilution. 

This simply means that the increased 

amount of blood 

in the body of a pregnant woman 

causes the levels

 of albumin to drop. This condition 

is closely 

monitored as it should resolve itself. In the

 other case, there can suddenly be elevated levels
 of albumin that is excreted in the urine.
 This is a dangerous sign because it is an indication of a premature delivery on its way.

In other situations, anything that doesn’t fall in the 
reference range of 3.5 – 5.5 units per liter of blood is 
a sign of hypoalbuminemia or hyperalbuminemia.
 Albuminuria is a condition that is especially useful 
in diabetics. This is a disease that slowly kills off the

 cells

 of the body one by one with the acidosis that it causes.

 Renal function is one of the first casualties that signal
 the onset of the more serious side of this disease. 
The podocytes cells that are destroyed by diabetes 
then start to slowly leak out albumin but are unable to excrete creatinine – a metabolic
 by product from the muscles. A ratio called the creatinine-albumin ratio is then used
 to calculate the intensity of the problem. Usually, dialysis is one of the only 
possibilities left if the kidneys have been destroyed