Urinary N-acetyl- beta-D-glucosaminidase activities in patients with renal disease.

Urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities were assayed in every urine void throughout 24 hours in 17 normal people and in four patients with renal disease. The variation in NAG activity due to changing rates of urine flow was almost eliminated by factoring enzyme activity by the urinary creatinine concentration. Random samples of urine may thus be used for assay. The results of NAG assay in 36 patients with acute and chronic renal diseases showed that NAG was a sensitive indicator of renal damage. This simple test may be valuable in detecting or monitoring renal disease.