Creatinine is lowered - this deviation is rare, but still occurs in people. To understand why this pathology is detected in patients, it is necessary to find out what creatinine is, for which it is generally necessary.
What is creatinine?
Creatinine is the end product of the so-called protein metabolism, which allows you to judge the state of the muscular system of a person and his kidneys. As you know, this substance is one of the elements of residual nitrogen. This is a combination of non-protein components in the blood (ammonia, creatinine, uric acid, urea, etc.), which are excreted through the kidneys from the body. The detected level of creatinine, as well as other substances, judge the normal condition and excretory function of the kidneys.
Where is it formed?
Why is creatinine lowered in blood? Before answering this question, it is necessary to find out exactly where the component of residual nitrogen is formed. Most of this substance occurs in muscle tissue from creatine phosphate, which is a source of energy that is essential for muscle contraction. In addition, a small amount of this component is formed in the brain.
What is the normal blood creatinine content?
Elevated or, conversely, decreased levels of creatinine in the blood can be detected only after a biochemical analysis. To obtain reliable results, it is recommended to donate blood only in the morning and on an empty stomach (approximately eight hours after the last meal).
The concentration of this substance in plasma depends on the normal or abnormal functioning of the kidneys. It should be noted that this value is quite stable.
Due to the fact that some of the creatinine is formed in muscle tissue, its amount in the blood directly depends on the person’s mass (only muscle). As you know, among the stronger sex it is much larger, and therefore the norm of the content of this component in plasma is slightly higher (about 79-114 mmol / L) than in women (about 59-99 mmol / L.).
Increased Creatinine
In medical practice, an increased and decreased content of creatinine in human blood is observed. The first case is quite common in athletes due to large muscle mass. Also, an elevated level of this substance can be in people who consume meat products a lot, and also take such medications as Tetracycline, Ibuprofen, Cefazolin, etc.
We can not ignore the fact that this deviation from the norm may indicate the presence of the following diseases:
- chronic renal failure ;
- renal acute failure;
- hyperthyroidism;
- severe damage to muscle tissue.
Creatinine Reduced: Reasons for Deviation
Such a pathology is quite rare. This usually happens when:
- a decrease in human muscle mass caused by a disease (for example, muscular dystrophy);
- the occurrence of certain types of severe liver disease, including cirrhosis;
- following a strict diet with a fairly low protein content (for example, vegetarianism);
- pregnancy
- expressed dysfunctions of such an organ as the kidneys that arose during life-threatening infections, cancer, shock, low blood flow, or blocking the urinary tract;
- heart failure;
- dehydration;
- severe muscle tissue injuries;
- rhabdomyolysis;
- lack of antidiuretic hormone (or abbreviated ADH).
As you can see, creatinine can be lowered for various reasons. Enhance its content quite easily. To do this, it is recommended to build muscle mass, consume more proteins (meat, nuts, fish, seafood, etc.), vitamins and minerals, as well as undergo a full medical examination to identify possible diseases that need to be treated only under the supervision of a doctor.
How to lower blood creatinine ?
If you have a high content of this substance in the blood, then to lower it, you must first cure the diseases against which this pathology occurred. In addition, you should adhere to a strict vegetarian diet for a while, eat more fruits and vegetables.
It is also worth noting that in order to lower creatinine in the blood, some doctors prescribe special medications to their patients, including corticosteroids. If such a deviation has arisen against the background of active physical activity (exhausting sports or hard work), then it should be abandoned.
To summarize
Now you know why creatinine is lowered or elevated in the blood, as well as how to get rid of such a pathological condition. It should be specially noted that if such abnormal test results are ignored, then the patient may develop quite serious complications associated with renal function.