Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis
| Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis | |
|---|---|
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| Histopathological image of crescentic glomerulonephritis in a patient with MPO-ANCA positive rapid progressive glomerulonephritis. Hematoxylin & eosin stain. | |
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | Nephrology |
| ICD-10 | N01 |
| DiseasesDB | 3165 |
| eMedicine | med/881 med/890 |
| Orphanet | 280569 |
Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a syndrome of the kidney that is characterized by a rapid loss of renal function, (usually a 50% decline in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) within 3 months) with glomerular crescent formation seen in at least 50% or 75% of glomeruli seen on kidney biopsies. If left untreated, it rapidly progresses into acute renal failure and death within months. In 50% of cases, RPGN is associated with an underlying disease such as Goodpasture syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus or granulomatosis with polyangiitis; the remaining cases are idiopathic. Regardless of the underlying cause, RPGN involves severe injury to the kidneys' glomeruli, with many of the glomeruli containing characteristic glomerular crescents (crescent-shaped scars).
Most types of RPGN are characterized by severe and rapid loss of kidney function featuring severe hematuria (blood in the urine), red blood cell casts in the urine, and proteinuria (protein in the urine), sometimes exceeding 3 g protein/24 h, a range associated with nephrotic syndrome. Some patients also experience hypertension (high blood pressure) and edema. Severe disease is characterized by pronounced oliguria or anuria, which portends a poor prognosis.
RPGN can be classified into three types, based upon the immunofluorescence patterns:
Accounting for approximately 20% of RPGN, type I RPGN is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies directed against the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). It is also called anti-GBM glomerulonephritis. The antibodies are directed against a particular protein found in the GBM, type IV collagen, specifically the noncollagenous region of its α3 chain. In addition to the anti-GBM antibodies, some cases of type I RPGN are also associated with antibodies directed against the basement membrane of lung alveoli, producing Goodpasture syndrome. The majority of type I disease, however, features anti-GBM antibodies alone; these cases are considered idiopathic.
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