Glomerulonephritis

Often part of a multisystem disorder.

Edema is a sign of severe or chronic disease.

A renal biopsy is the test for definitive diagnosis, although it is not required in all patients.

Treating the underlying disorder and managing hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and proteinuria is the mainstay of therapy.

Some patients may eventually need dialysis or transplant.

Regular, and sometimes frequent, monitoring of renal function is critical.

Glomerulonephritis (GN) denotes glomerular injury and applies to a group of diseases that are generally, but not always, characterized by inflammatory changes in the glomerular capillaries and the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). The injury can involve a part or all of the glomeruli or the glomerular tuft. The inflammatory changes are mostly immune mediated.[1]Couser WG. Glomerulonephritis. Lancet. 1999 May 1;353(9163):1509-15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10232333?tool=bestpractice.com [2]Brady HR, O'Meara YM, Brenner BM. Glomerular diseases. In: Kasper DL, Braunwald E, Fauci A, et al, eds. Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 16th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2005:1674. Diseases include membranous GN, minimal change disease, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, immunoglobulin A nephropathy, forms of rapidly progressive GN (vasculitis and anti-GBM disease), and systemic lupus erythematosus nephritis as the more common forms; and glomerular damage in other systemic diseases such as diabetes, amyloidosis, myeloma, and a variety of infections.