3. introduction
• Nephrotic syndrome is a group of symptoms that, together, show that
your kidneys are not working as well as they should. These symptoms
include:
• Too much protein in your urine
• Too little protein in your blood
• Too much cholesterol in your blood
• High levels of triglycerides in your blood
• Swelling in your legs, feet and ankles
•
4. Who gets nephrotic syndrome?
• People of all ages, genders and ethnicities can get nephrotic
syndrome, but is slightly more common in men than in women. In
children, it happens most often between the ages of 2 and 6. Certain
things can make people more likely to get nephrotic syndrome,
including:
• Diseases that affect the kidneys
• Certain medicines, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) and antibiotics
• Infections, such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and malaria
6. nephrotic syndrome
• Essentially, loss of protein through the kidneys proteinuria leads to
low protein levels in the blood hypoalbuminemia which causes water
to be drawn into soft tissues (edema). Very low hypoalbuminemia
can also cause a variety of secondary problems, such as water in the
abdominal cavity (ascites), around the heart or lung (pericardial
effusion, pleural effusion), high cholesterol hyperlipidemia loss of
molecules regulating coagulation increased risk of thrombosis
7. • Large proteinuria is due to an increase in permeability of the "filtering membrane" of the
kidney which normally separates the blood from the urinary space in Bowman's capsule.
This is composed of the capillary walls of the glomerulus which are wrapped by highly
specialized cells called podocytes. Alterations in their capacity to filter the substances
transported in the blood mean that proteins but not cells pass into the urine (hence no
haematuria). By contrast, in nephritic syndrome red blood cells pass through the pores,
causing haematuria.
8.
9. • Nephrotic syndrome has many causes, including primary kidney
diseases such asminimal-change nephropathy, focal
glomerulosclerosis, and membranous nephropathy. Nephrotic
syndrome can also result from systemic diseases that affect other
organs in addition to the kidneys, such as diabetes, amyloidosis, and
lupus erythematosus.
• Nephrotic syndrome may affect adults and children of both sexes and
of any race. It may occur in typical form, or in association with
nephritic syndrome. The latter connotes glomerular inflammation,
with hematuria and impaired kidney function.
14. What are the complications of nephrotic
syndrome?
• Nephrotic syndrome makes your body lose protein through your urine.
Proteins do many jobs in your body. When you don’t have enough protein
in your blood, your body can start to have other problems, such as blood
clots and infections. Other complications that can be caused by nephrotic
syndrome include:
• Anemia
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Fluid buildup
• Acute kidney injury