15 - Glomerular Disease Pathology II Flashcards
What is the first approach to diagnosing your patient with renal disease?
Classify the patients clinical symptoms using clinical and laboratory parameters into one of the clinical renal syndromes
Describe nephritic syndrome
EMPHASIZED
- HTN*** (due to salt retention)
- Oliguria (due to decreased GFR from inflamed glomeruli)
- Proteinuria (more than 150 mg/24 hrs BUT less than 3.5 g/24 hrs)
- Hematuria*** (with dysmorphic RBCs)
- RBC casts***
Know the starred things
Describe nephrotic syndrome
EMPHASIZED
- Proteinuria*** (with more than 3.5 g/24 hrs **)
- Generalized pitting edema* and ascites (due to hypoalbuminemia*)
- Hypercoagulable state
- Hypercholesterol
- Hypogammaglobinemia
- Fatty casts ***
Know the starred things
Describe the cause of nephritic syndrome
- Due to breaks in the glomerular capillary loops
- Erythrocytes spill out into urinary space
Describe the cause of nephrotic syndrome
- Due to glomerular capillary filtration defects
- Protein molecules spill out into the urinary space
What is effacement?
- Shortening and/or thinning of the epithelial cell foot processes
- This causes protein defects (nephrotic syndrome)
- This process can no longer stay attached to the basement membrane, so they will detach and the basement membrane will be leaky
- Protein can be reabsorbed
???
What is the cause of acute renal failure?
- Due to tubular injury in most cases
Describe the progression of renal disease
- Acute renal failure, nephrotic syndrome and nephritic syndrome can all occur
- If not treated or if it does not respond to treatment, all can progress to CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE (scarred or fibrosed kidneys)
- There will be a slow rise in creatinine over months to years
What are the gross features of CRF?
- Kidneys are small
- Cortex thinned
- Increase pelvic fat
What are the microscopic features of CRF?
- Glomerular sclerosis
- Interstitial fibrosis
- Tubular atrophy
KNOW SLIDE 39 (image of these pathologies)
What are the causes of nephrotic syndrome?
Primary causes
- Minimal change disease
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis
- Membranous nephropathy
Secondary causes
- Diabetic nephropathy
What are other systemic disorders that can cause nephrotic syndrome?
- Diabetes
- Amyloidosis
- SLE
- Drugs (gold, penicillamine, heroin)
- Infections (malaria, syphilis, Hep B, Hep C, HIV)
- Malignancies (carcinoma, melanoma)
Describe minimal change glomerulopathy
AKA minimal change disease or lipoid nephrosis
- **MOST COMMON CAUSE OF NEPHROTIC SYNDROME IN CHILDREN **
- Age 2-6 years old
- Normal glomeruli on LM and IF imaging ***
- Effacement of foot processes will be visible on EM ***
- Lipid tubular cells
- Usually responds to steroids
What do you NEED to remember about minimal disease?
- NOTHING will be seen on LM or IF
- EFFACEMENT of FOOT PROCESSES on EM
What is the KEY LESION in minimal change disease?
- Diffuse epithelial foot process effacement ****
What will you see in the tubular cells in minimal change disease?
- Lipids in tubular cells
- AKA “lipoid nephrosis”
- Tubular cells contain lipid, hence the name “lipoid nephrosis”
Describe focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
Proteinuria is a defining feature of FSGS
Incidence = 7 /million; increasing over recent years
Cardinal feature is progressive glomerular scarring
Early in the disease course, glomerulosclerosis is focal and segmental. With progression, more diffuse and global glomerulosclerosis develops.
What are the causes of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)?
EMPHASIZED***
- Heroin
- HIV
Primary
- Idiopathic disease (80%)
Secondary
- Virus-induced: HIV, CMV, EBV, Parvovirus B19
- Drug-induced: Heroin, anabolic steroies
- Family/genetic: mutations in podocyte genes
- Adaptive (hemodynamic adaptations): systemic hypertension, surgical renal ablation, aging kidney, sickle cell anemia, BMI (obesity; bodybuilding)
Describe the disease characteristics of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)?
- Nephrotic syndrome (or nephrotic-range proteinuria)
- Hypertension (common)
- Common in African Americans
- Variable degree of decreased renal function
- Microscopic hematuria
Describe the biopsy resutls of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
- LM: Segmental sclerosis *** (this means only a SEGMENT of the glomerular capillary tuft is involved - “hyalinosis”
- IF: Mild IgM and C3 or negative
- EM: diffuse epithelial cell injury (foot process effacement)
Describe the clinical course of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
- Response to steroids is variable
- Thus, differs from minimal change disease in prognosis
What are the causes of membranous glomerulopahty?
- Idiopathic (85%)
- 60% will develop “waxing and waning” proteinuria
- 15% go on to “classic nephrotic syndrome