I have posted on the importance of albumin before, particularly in:
"Inflammation ... Albumin & C-Reactive Protein [CRP]" [1]
It's odd that albumin could prove to be predictive of survival in different medical situations, & even in "healthy" individuals. I have often wondered why an albumin infusion wasn't a standard response to patients deemed at risk. Instead it seems to be mostly measured for prognostic purposes.
In the new study, "High-Dose Albumin Cuts Cirrhotic Inflammation, Heart Dysfunction". [2]
"High doses of albumin reduced systemic inflammation and cardiocirculatory dysfunction in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, according to a European analysis. The new findings suggest that the protein has beneficial effects beyond plasma volume expansion, said Javier Fernández, MD, PhD, of the University of Barcelona in Spain, and co-authors.
"Data from their Pilot-PRECIOSA study, published in Gastroenterology, indicated that both short- and long-term high-dose albumin – but not low-dose albumin – was associated with normalized serum albumin levels and improved circulatory stability and left ventricular function. Interestingly, high-dose therapy also prevented the newly observed phenomenon of sudden transient bursts of circulatory dysfunction and did so without inducing albumin overdose."
"Albumin also significantly correlated with reduced plasma levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin 6, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor -- with no significant changes in portal pressure. Similar immunomodulatory effects emerged in the INFECIR-2 trial, which also saw significant reductions in plasma cytokines with albumin therapy.
"Albumin's immune-modulating effect could stem from its scavenging function and ability to bind and its inactivate inflammatory promoters such as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (for example, bioactive lipid metabolites), prostaglandins, reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide, the researchers said. "However, this explanation may be too simplistic, and further [investigations] are clearly needed to understand the anti-inflammatory effect of albumin treatment in cirrhosis."
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Most of the stuff floating around in our blood is bound to proteins. Albumin is the most common of the transportation proteins. It seems logical that correction of a low-albumin situation might result in unbound circulating inflammatory promoters being neutralized.
For the full text of the actual study paper "Effects of Albumin Treatment on Systemic and Portal Hemodynamics and Systemic Inflammation in Patients With Decompensated Cirrhosis", see [3].
-Patrick
[1] healthunlocked.com/advanced...
