Membranous glomerulonephritis overview
|
Membranous glomerulonephritis Microchapters |
|
Differentiating Membranous glomerulonephritis from other Diseases |
|---|
|
Diagnosis |
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Membranous glomerulonephritis overview On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Membranous glomerulonephritis overview |
|
Directions to Hospitals Treating Membranous glomerulonephritis |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Membranous glomerulonephritis overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN), also known as membranous nephropathy, is a slowly progressive disease of the kidney affecting mostly patients between ages of 30 and 50 years. 85% of MGN cases are classified as primary membranous glomerulonephritis -- that is to say, the cause of the disease is idiopathic (unknown). This can also be referred to as idiopathic membranous nephropathy. The remainder is secondary due to :
- autoimmune conditions (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus)
- infections (e.g., syphilis, malaria, hepatitis B)
- drugs (e.g., captopril, NSAIDs)
- inorganic salts
- malignant tumors (in particular, carcinoma of the lung and colon, and melanoma)
The word membranous refers to the glomerular basement membrane of the kidney; glomerulonephritis means "a kidney disease affecting the capillaries of the glomeruli"; nephropathy is a generic term that just refers to any disease of the kidney.