Background information

Creatinine forms from protein metabolism.

Nephritis is the inflammation of the nephrons, which in the worst case can cause kidney failure requiring dialysis.

Background for metabolism

1. Metabolism supplies energy for muscular contraction.
2. Creatinine is a byproduct of creatine. The amino acid creatine is a natural part of all muscles, and is processed to store energy for muscular contraction. The process by which it's metabolized creates creatinine, which is then found in muscles and blood. From where it flows to the kidney where it is removed, excreted, and collected as part of urine.
3. People who are healthy, have no problem filtering creatinine out of the bloodstream by the kidneys.

Background about protein

1. Protein is essential for growth.
2. Eating food with protein is the sole source of the ten essential amino acids, and the primary source of nitrogen, necessary for the synthesis of other amino acids.
3. Protein is digested and broken down to amino acids, primarily in the liver, which are absorbed into the circulation and taken to cells throughout the body, and quickly become combined by peptide linkages.

Background energy, metabolism, protein, amino acids

1. Humans get energy from carbohydrates (simple and complex sugars), fats, and proteins through the process of metabolism.
2. Metabolism includes the breakdown of substances (catabolism), the formation of new products (synthesis or anabolism), or the transferring of energy from one substance to another.
3. Protein metabolism occurs primarily in the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the kidney.
4. Metabolism (catabolism - break down also deamination) of proteins and amino acids removes an amino group (-NH2) from an amino acid and converts it to ammonia, which is ultimately converted to urea and excreted. Additionally deamination can be for plasma protein synthesis, and when amino acids are changed from one to another.
5. Nitrogenous wastes contain ammonia and include, urea, uric acid, creatinine and ammonia, which is a colorless crystalline compound.
6. Creatinine, also an NPN waste product, is produced from the breakdown of creatine (in muscles) and phosphocreatine. It can serve as an indicator of renal function. Creatine is synthesized in the liver, pancreas, and kidneys from the transamination (the transfer of an amine group from one amino acid to another to synthesis nonessential amino acids) of the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine.
7. Ammonia is a waste product the liver can remove. Or it can be added to other chemicals to form an amino acid called glutamine, or form a chemical compound called urea.
8. Your bloodstream moves urea to your kidneys, where it's eliminated in your urine.
9. The plasma level of amino acids is tightly controlled and maintained near a constant level. Once the cellular limit of protein storage is met, excess amino acids are broken down and used for energy or stored as fat or glycogen.
10. The liver is the primary site that breaks down amino acids into simpler ones and release energy, except branch-chained amino acid break down, which occurs in the muscle cells.
11. The urea cycle, in which the toxic compound ammonia is converted to urea, occurs solely in the liver. The synthesis of plasma proteins, albumin, fibrinogen, and globulin also occur in the liver.

Background kidneys

1. Kidneys filter your blood. About half a cup every minute. Nephrons are the structures in the kidney that do this. They have two parts: glomerulus, which filter the blood and tubules, tubes for the blood and other usable materials to flow back into the bloodstream.
2. Removes waste material and excess fluid, and excretes it as urine.
3. More about kidneys.