Microalbuminuria in cerebrovascular diseases.

Microalbuminuria was originally introduced to clinical practice as a useful marker of incipient diabetic nephropathy. The growing body of evidence suggests that increased urinary albumin excretion is related to the increased risk of cardiovascular events and all causes mortality in subjects with or without diabetes. More over, transient increases of albuminuria were found in numerous acute diseases, including trauma, meningitis, myocardial infarction and stroke. Microalbuminuria was found as an important prognostic variable in these settings, but the exact mechanism of its transient occurrence remains unknown. The measurement of daily albumin excretion is a relatively easy and inexpensive diagnostic tool. The predictive value of increased albuminuria is promising but requires further detailed studies. This paper reviews the relevance of microalbuminuria for cerebrovascular diseases, stressing the future research plans and clinical implications.