When the body breaks down a muscle component called creatine, a waste product called creatinine forms. In a healthy person, the kidneys remove the creatinine from the bloodstream and excrete it in the urine. Checking urine creatinine levels helps...
Creatinine tests are commonly used by your doctor as a quick and easy way to check your kidney function. Creatine supplements are used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts to assist in muscle growth and increase short-term endurance. Creatine is...
Creatinine is included in most routine lab work because it is the most reliable indicator of kidney health. Kidney patients should know what creatinine is, how it is measured and what their creatinine values mean. Many patients find it helpful to...
Creatine is a compound naturally created by our body to produce the energy needed for muscle contraction. When your muscles break down creatine, a waste product called creatinine is formed. Your kidneys excrete almost all the creatinine in your...
Your body contains several different compounds related to creatine -- a nitrogen-containing organic compound produced in the kidneys and liver during the breakdown of proteins. An enzyme known as creatine phosphokinase stimulates the conversion of...
Your kidneys filter creatinine, a byproduct of the energy producing acid creatine, out of your blood and into your urine. So by measuring the creatinine levels, whether from the blood or urine, in a laboratory test, a physician can determine the...
Health care professionals make medical diagnoses based on history, physical exam, laboratory findings and other special studies. Creatine is a chemical found in the blood that helps restore the main energy carrier of your cells -- ATP. After it is...
There is varied information about low creatinine levels in children and adults. KidsHealth.org states that your muscles produce creatinine as one of the waste products of your body. Some resources suggest low creatinine levels in adults and...
One of the more common diagnostic tests a doctor may perform involves measuring the level of a chemical called creatinine in the urine or blood. The test is simple to perform and provides very useful information about how well your kidneys are...
The kidneys' main function is to clear the blood of wastes and remove excess fluid. Some tests that measure abnormal kidney function include blood pressure, urine albumin, creatinine, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN)....
Normally, your kidneys screen impurities from your bloodstream. The result of this process is the removal of waste materials and excess fluid in the urine. Occasionally, infections, injuries and disease hamper the ability of the kidneys to perform...
Creatine is a substance that is mainly found in the muscles; it is stored for use when the muscles need energy. Made by the cells from three amino acids, it is ultimately changed to creatinine and sent to the kidneys, as creatinine is primarily...
Creatine is a natural substance produced from amino acids in your body and used to supply energy to all your cells, especially your muscles. Creatinine is the break-down product of creatine and is excreted in your urine. Measuring creatinine...
Diseases that affect the kidney can be difficult for a patient or doctor to diagnose without using a variety of diagnostic tests. Kidney function tests are defined by the Encyclopedia of Surgery as a variety of procedures that evaluate whether a...
Creatine is a compound made in your liver from amino acids and functions as an alternative energy source for your muscles during activity. Most people take creatine in supplement form, since it provides a high enough dosage to produce results....
Creatinine is a by-product of creatine, a supplier of energy to muscles. It is the chemical waste product that is produced from normal muscle contractions and released into the blood, then passes through the kidneys to be filtered and eliminated...
Magnetic resonance imaging is a test that uses a computer to produce very detailed pictures of body structure to help diagnose various diseases and medical conditions. MRIs are not X-rays and do not use radiation. A serum creatinine is a lab test...
Vanillylmandelic acid, or VMA, is a substance found in the urine of a child who has a type of abdominal tumor called a neuroblastoma. The VMA test was once used to diagnose another type of tumor – pheochromocytoma – but is now a...
Your blood acts as the main means of transport for several different substances in your body. By traveling through your blood serum, nutrients are able to reach their destination cells and waste products are carried away. Among the many chemicals...
High levels of urine protein are a red flag for kidney disease. However, there are many different ways that urine protein can be measured, each with its own scale of values and method of collection. The protein-to-creatinine ratio is one of the...
Tests for urine protein and serum creatinine are a regular part of most routine laboratory lab work. Urine protein is even tested by insurers when you apply for life insurance. Whether these are part of your routine physical or whether they are...
The muscles make creatine phosphate from creatine so they can use the phosphate to help make the energy that they need, but when they remove the phosphate, creatine phosphate changes to creatinine. Normally, the creatinine is sent to the kidneys....
High blood glucose levels may increase your risk of both long- and short-term health complications. Hyperglycemia is the medical term for high blood glucose. Elevated levels of creatine in your body may signal the presence of kidney damage due to...
Urinary creatinine testing is essential to determining levels of kidney function. According to the National Institutes of Health's Medline Plus, creatinine is a byproduct of creatine, which is a part of lean muscle. Lowered levels of creatinine...
Creatinine is a waste product produced by the muscles through normal contraction. According to Davita.com, creatinine passes through the kidneys to be filtered out through urination. When the kidneys cannot work efficiently, as with kidney...
BUN and creatinine tests are common medical lab tests used to assess kidney function. The BUN, or blood urea nitrogen test, measures amounts of nitrogen in your blood. A creatinine test is used to check for how well your kidneys are filtering...
Taken together, high levels of serum potassium, serum creatinine and urine protein, also called microalbumin, are consistent with advanced kidney disease. All these tests are routinely performed on patients with chronic kidney disease. The results...
Since nephrologists often recommend that patients with advanced kidney disease avoid dark-colored soda, you might mistakenly assume that soda is bad for your kidneys. There are many good reasons to refrain from guzzling soda, but they relate more...
While exercise doesn't eliminate protein in the kidneys, very vigorous exercise might cause proteins in the blood to pass into the urine via the kidneys. While small amounts of protein in the urine are fairly normal, this should not be confused...
