Inflammation of the glomeruli (see glomerulus), affecting both kidneys. Damage to the glomeruli hampers the removal of waste products, salt, and water from the bloodstream, which may cause serious complications.
Some types of glomerulonephritis are caused by immune complexes (components of the immune system produced in response to infection) becoming trapped in the glomeruli. The condition occurs in some autoimmune disorders. Infectious diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis are important causes of glomerulonephritis in tropical countries.
Mild glomerulonephritis may produce no symptoms. Some sufferers experience a dull ache over the kidneys. The urine may become bloodstained. Loss of protein into the urine may cause oedema (see nephrotic syndrome). Hypertension is a potentially serious complication. Long-term glomerulonephritis is a common cause of chronic kidney failure.
Diagnosis involves kidney function tests, urinalysis, and kidney biopsy. Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the disease. Children with nephrotic syndrome usually respond to corticosteroid drugs. In adults, kidney failure can sometimes be prevented or delayed by drug treatment and dietary control to reduce the work of the kidneys.glomerulosclerosis Scarring caused by damage to the glomeruli (see glomerulus). Mild glomerulosclerosis occurs normally with age. Glomerulosclerosis may occur in some severe types of glomerulonephritis. It is also sometimes associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, AIDS, or intravenous drug abuse. glomerulus A filtering unit of the kidney that consists of a cluster of capillaries enclosed in a capsule and supplied with blood from the renal artery. Each glomerulus is a part of a larger filtering unit called a nephron. Filtered blood eventually leaves the kidney via the renal vein.
(See also glomerulonephritis.)
See KIDNEYS, DISEASES OF.
(glomerular nephritis, GN) n. inflammation of the glomeruli, although in practice the term is used for a number of glomerular conditions lacking microscopical signs of inflammation. For instance, *membranous nephropathy is often referred to as membranous glomerulonephritis. GN may be a primary disease, restricted in its clinical manifestations to the kidney, or part of a multisystem disorder, such as systemic *lupus erythematosus or *vasculitis. Its presentation may be acute, with a *nephritic or *nephrotic syndrome; subacute, with rapidly declining renal function over a period of days or weeks; or chronic, with signs of the disease picked up on routine medical examination. Abnormalities of urine analysis are to be expected, with blood, protein, and casts present in variable amounts. Arterial hypertension is a common associated finding. GN is classified according to the different patterns of histological injury seen on renal biopsy specimens; these are examined by light and electron microscopy and by immunofluorescent studies.
(membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis) a renal disease characterized by changes in the glomeruli with mesangial cell proliferation and thickening of the capillary wall (see juxtaglomerular apparatus). Three types are distinguished. Type 1 is associated with immune deposits in the subendothelial space and the mesangial cells, and may sometimes be associated with cryoglobulinaemia (see cryoglobulin) and infection with the hepatitis C virus. Type 2, also known as dense deposit disease, is associated with a ribbon of electron-dense material within the glomerular basement membrane. Type 3 is associated with immune deposits in the subendothelium, the basement membrane, and the subepithelial spaces. All three types have a variable presentation, ranging from asymptomatic abnormalities of the urinary sediment through *nephrotic syndrome to subacute renal failure. Apart from treatment of any coexisting hepatitis C, there is no consensus regarding specific treatment of these conditions.... mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis
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