The British Journal of Psychiatry 141: 420-422 (1982)
© 1982 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Use of renal enzymes to evaluate nephrotoxicity in lithium treated patients
MJ Garvey, VB Tuason, CH Blomquist and S Hwang
N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminadase (NAG) is a renal enzyme which is an early,
sensitive and reliable indicator of renal damage. NAG assays of midstream
spot urines were not significantly different in a group of controls when
compared to patients starting lithium for the first time, or to a group of
patients who had been taking lithium for more than one year. However, a
small number of lithium-treated patients may have evidence of renal damage,
identifiable by NAG assay.