Session 9 - Glomerular damage Flashcards
What are the main foci of kidney disease?
- Glomerulus
- PCT
- Interstitium
- Vascular supply
What is a primary glomerular injury?
• One which just effects the glomerulus
What is a secondary glomerula injury?
• A systemic illness which happens to effect the glomerulus
What are the four main sites of glomerular injury?
• Subepithelial ○ Anything that effects podocytes/podocyte side of glomerular basement membrane • Within glomerula basement membrane • Subendothelial ○ Inside the basement membrane • Mesangial/parameangial ○ Supporting capillary loop
Why can the nephron be termed a “functional unit”
• Same blood supply to glomerulus and nephron
○ Thus, ischaemic disease in glomerulus reduces blood supply to nephron, causing damage
What are the two main pathologies of the glomerulus?
• It can become blocked ○ "Renal Failure" ○ Decreased GFR ○ Haematuria • It can leak ○ Proteinuria ○ Haematuria ○ One, other or both
What is proteinuria?
• Presence of excess serum proteins in the urine (<3.5g filtered every 24 hours)
What does proteinuria indicate?
• Podocyte damage, causing fenestration to widen and causing protein to be leaked when it would normally be filtered
Less severe nephrotic syndrome
What is nephrotic syndrome?
• More than 3.5g of protein lost in urine per day
Soon becomes hypoalbuminaemia
How does the body respond to hypoalbuminaemia as a result of nephrotic syndrome?
- Oedematous
* Liver starts to pump out more albumin, along with more cholesterol!
What is nephritic syndrome?
- Glomerulus is blocked
- GFR drops
- Creatinine increases
- Haematuria (glomerulus blood vessels ruptured)
- Hypertensive
What are the four main areas in the glomerula capillary loop where damage can occur?
- Subepithelial
- With GBM
- Subendothelial
- Mesangial
What is the difference between primary and secondary kidney disease?
- Primary kidney disease - Pathology soley affecting kidney
* Secondary kidney disease - Systemic disease which affects kidney
What is the likely site of injury in proteinuria/nephrotic syndrome?
• Podocyte/subepithelial damage
Give three primary causes of proteinuria/nephrotic syndrome
- Minimal change glomerulonephritis
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis
- Membranous glomerulonephritis
Give two common secondary cuases of proteinuria/nephrotic syndrome
- Diabetes mellitus
* Amyloidosis
When does minimal change glomerulnephritis occur?
- Occurs in childhood/adolescence
* Incidence reduces with increasing age
What are the symptoms of glomerulonephritis?
- Heavy proteinuria or nephrotic syndrome
- Responds to steroids
- Usually no progression to renal failure
Why does minimal change glomerulonephritis occur?
• Podocytes destroyed, loss of filtration slits