Glomerulonephritis

HPHY 242 L
15 April 2013
Glomerulonephritis
The kidney performs many functions which include regulation of extracellular fluid and blood pressure, regulation of osmolarity, maintenance of ion balance, regulation of pH levels, excretion of waste, and the production of hormones. Although the kidney performs all these functions, the renal disease Glomerulonephritis, also known as glomerular nephritis and abbreviated GN relates to the excretion of waste. With this disease, the part of your kidney which is called the renal corpuscle is damaged. The renal corpuscle consists of glomerular capillary endothelium, a basal lamina, and the epithelium of Bowman’s capsule. Kidney function can be lost within weeks or months with this disease. To begin the discussion of GN, we must first look at and understand the structure of our kidneys. The interior of the kidneys is arranged in two parts, the outer cortex and inner medulla. Microscopic tubules called nephrons form these layers and are the functional unit of the kidneys, which means they are the smallest unit that can perform each function of the kidney. Each section has specialized blood vessels. When blood enters the kidneys, it flows from the afferent arterioles into the glomeruli. The glomeruli, which consists of small blood vessels, is where filtration of blood occurs to form urine. 20% of the blood that flows into the glomerulus gets filtered. Most everything has the chance of getting filtered except for red blood cells and large proteins. With this basic knowledge of the kidney, we can look at what GN is. Put simply, it is a group of diseases that injure the glomeruli and the filtration barriers that fluid must go through before being filtered. When your kidneys are injured, they can not get rid of wastes and extra fluid that is in your body and needs to be excreted. When the glomeruli are inflamed, these small blood vessels can not filter as much as they can when they are healthy. This all occurs due to problems with our bodies immune systems, which is why sicknesses such as strep throat can lead to glomerulonephritis. There is acute GN and chronic GN. Acute develops suddenly, while chronic may form silently over several years. To diagnose GN, doctors would find proteins and blood in urine. Other ways to diagnose is to look for edema or unusual urination patterns. For chronic GN, symptoms include blood or protein in urine, foam in urine, urinating in the middle of the night, edema, and high blood pressure. Chronic GN often times leads to kidney failure, which has the symptoms of a lack of appetite, vomiting, tiredness, difficulty sleeping, dry skin, and muscle cramps. Acute GN is caused by infections such as strep throat, lupus, diabetes, Goodpasture’s syndrome, Wegener’s Disease, and polyarteritis nodosa. For chronic GN, the causes are still slightly unknown but sometimes the disease runs in the family. If a person has acute GN, it can develop into chronic GN. People urinate 1 to 1.5 liters each day, but those with bad GN may not urinate for days at a time due to trouble with filtration. Often times acute GN will improve by itself over time. Although if a person has chronic GN, keeping the kidneys protected is very important. For infections such as strep throat that may have caused the GN, doctors will prescribe medication. For high blood pressure, diuretics, ACE inhibitors, or angiotensin receptor agonists can be used. Kidney dialysis or kidney transplant are the only longterm treatments for GN. Watching blood pressure is definitely the most important thing to watch when dealing with GN. Without many sure ways to treat the disease, it is important to be patient and watch closely for symptoms.
Work Sited:
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