Signes cliniques et biologiques des néphropathies glomérulaires

Glomerular diseases are characterized by histological lesions that affect mainly glomeruli. The classification is based on renal pathology data, including the lesions observed on light microscopy and the results of immunofluorescence and electron microscopy examination. The two main glomerular symptoms are proteinuria and hematuria. These symptoms may be associated with blood hypertension and/or renal insufficiency. The predominance of one of these symptoms and the progression pattern allow to describe different clinical patterns: an acute nephritic syndrome, a nephrotic syndrome, a syndrome with recurrent macroscopic hematuria, a syndrome of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and a syndrome of chronic glomerulonephritis. The famillial history, the presence of extra-renal symptoms, the results of immunologic tests and of the renal biopsy allow in most cases to identify a precise type of glomerular disease.