The Levels and Significance of Serum Sex Hormones, BMP-7, and RBP in Adult Male Patients With Primary Nephrotic Syndrome.

AIMS/BACKGROUND: There remain significant challenges in assessing the risk of primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) and concomitant acute kidney injury (AKI) in adult males. AKI is characterized by decreased glomerular filtration rate. This study investigates the levels of serum sex hormones, bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7), and retinol-binding protein (RBP) and their significance in adult male patients with PNS and concomitant AKI. METHODS: This retrospective analysis enrolled 86 adult male PNS patients admitted to Wuxi No.2 People's Hospital between January 2020 and November 2023 as the PNS group, and 80 healthy adult males as the healthy group. Serum levels of sex hormones-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH)-as well as bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) and RBP were compared between the two groups. Furthermore, PNS patients were stratified into PNS groups with or without AKI cohorts based on glomerular filtration rate. Additionally, the levels of these parameters were compared between the subgroups. CONCLUSION: Male patients with PNS exhibit abnormal serum sex hormone, BMP-7, and RBP levels, which are associated with AKI. E2, BMP-7, and RBP levels demonstrate significant predictive potential in assessing AKI risk in PNS.