1. Prealbumin, also known as transthyretin, was first identified in 1942 as an acute negative temporal response protein and nonspecific host defense substance that has been used clinically to assess inflammatory responses, hepatic impairment, and malnutrition. Serum prealbumin is of diagnostic importance for clinical liver damage. It is significantly lower in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis, and obstructive jaundice, and is an indicator of early liver impairment.
2. A number of studies in recent years have shown that prealbumin is closely associated with many cardiovascular diseases, and is of particular value in assessing the severity and prognosis of heart failure and coronary artery disease, and can be used as a useful and accessible indicator to guide the clinical course of cardiology.
3. Proalbumin, an acute chronotropic protein, is involved in the pathology of many diseases through the mechanism of inflammatory response. In cardiac disease, it can indicate the extent of myocardial remodeling and cardiac contractility in patients with heart failure, and in combination with c-reactive protein testing, it can improve the sensitivity and specificity of adverse prognosis in patients with acute and chronic heart failure.