[Is the serum level of beta 2 microglobulin a better marker of glomerular filtration than blood creatinine?].

beta 2-microglobulin (b2M) serum level assessed by radioimmunoassay), creatinine serum level and Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR, as measured by 125I iothalamate clearance) have been simultaneously determined in 53 controls and 123 patients with chronic renal disease (100 with chronic renal failure, GFR = 80-18 ml/min). In all groups studied, correlations between beta 2M and GFR showed no improvement over creatinine and GFR. The beta 2M serum level does not appear to be a more sensitive or reliable marker of GFR than is creatinine.