Minimal change disease causes
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Causes
Minimal change disease can be associated with food allergies, medications, or hematologic malignancies, or it can occur idiopathically. The pathology does not appear to involve complement, immunoglobulins, or immune complex deposition. Rather, an altered cell-mediated immunologic response with abnormal secretion of lymphokines by T cells is thought to reduce the production of anions in the glomerular basement membrane, thereby increasing the glomerular permeability to serum albumin through a reduction of electrostatic repulsion.[1] The loss of anionic charges is also thought to favor foot process fusion. With minimal change disease the kidney tissue appears normal under a light microscope, but shows podocyte foot process effacement under an electron microscope.[2]