Nephrotic syndrome

Alternative names:

Ellis type II; nephrosis

Definition:

A group of signs and symptoms including protein in the urine, low blood protein, and swelling (edema). The urine may also contain fat that is visible under the microscope, and blood cholesterol rises in many cases.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Nephrotic syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms. It is caused by disorders that result in some type of damage to the kidney glomerulus, leading to abnormal excretion of protein in the urine.

This may occur as a result of infection, drug exposure, malignancy, hereditary disorders, or diseases that affect multiple body systems including diabetes mellitus (THE MOST COMMON CAUSE IN ADULTS), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple myeloma, and amyloidosis.

It may also occur in disorders of the kidney, including glomerulonephritis, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, minimal change disease (THE MOST COMMON CAUSE IN CHILDREN), membranous glomerulonephritis, and mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis.

Nephrotic syndrome occurs in about 2 out of 10,000 people. In children, the peak incidence of nephrotic syndrome is in the preschool years, usually when the child is 2 to 3 years old. There is a slight male predominance.