Nephropathies

This is a syndrome of functional and morphological changes in the kidneys. The cause of nephropathies can be poisoning with nephrotoxic substances, analgesics, long-term exposure to lead or its salts, deficiency of the enzyme xanthine oxidase. Nephropathy can occur due to diabetes mellitus (diabetic nephropathy), high blood pressure (hypertensive nephropathy). In 30-35% of cases, the cause of nephropathies is diabetes mellitus. Nephropathies are the most common cause of disability and death in people with diabetes mellitus, as it is associated with increasing renal insufficiency. Nephropathy occurs in about 40% of people with type I and about 20% with type II diabetes. Diabetic nephropathy is a microangiopathy characterized by thickening and stiffening of the arteriole walls in the glomeruli, thickening of the basement membranes of glomerular and tubular epithelial cells, and disturbances in filtration, reabsorption, secretion, and excretion, diabetic glomerulosclerosis, significant proteinuria, nephrogenic edema, arterial hypertension, and uremia.

Source | Glossary of Most Commonly Used Biomedical Terms and Concepts | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Academician Professor Antanas Praškevičius, Professor Laima Ivanovienė