Nephrotic Syndrome

Causes

Nephrotic Syndrome is the outcome of number of diseases that damage the filtering units of the kidneys in a specific way that allows them to leak protein into the urine. Hence there is an array of diseases, which eventually end up in Nephrotic Syndrome. Some of the diseases that cause Nephrotic Syndrome, such as nephritis, affect only the kidney. Other diseases that cause Nephrotic Syndrome, such as diabetes and lupus erythematosus, affect other parts of the body as well. It should be also noted that in vast majority of cases exact cause cannot be pinpointed. The most common causes could be listed as under: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Local diseases (primarily affecting kidneys) Systemic diseases (affecting various systems of body, one of them being kidney) Allergy Secondary to infections Ill effects of drugs (e.g. antibiotics like penicillin or drugs given to control blood pressure) Malignancy Psychological factors Idiopathic (Unknown causes)

1. Local causes: This group categorizes all those conditions, which directly and primarily affect kidneys and damage glomeruli. Such conditions are largely termed as nephropathies or glomerulopathies. Some of them may be present since birth (e.g. congenital nephrosis) and others may be acquired during lifetime. Glomerulonephritis (GN) occupies peak position among glomerulopathies causing Nephrotic Syndrome. In GN, the kidneys' filters become inflamed and scarred and slowly lose their ability to remove wastes and excess water from the blood to make urine. The basis of various nephropathies causing Nephrotic Syndrome is related to problem in the body's immune system. Under normal circumstances, immune system protects the body against invasion by foreign materials such as viruses and bacteria. However, if the immune system is not working properly, the kidneys may be harmed. The immune system may mistakenly attack the kidneys' filters (glomeruli) and cause them to become inflamed. To know more about this click here. There are many various variants of GN, basically depending upon how the kidneys look under microscope in particular condition. To know more about them click here. 2. General/ systemic diseases: This group categorizes all those diseases which affect wide spectrum of organs and systems in the body, one amongst them being kidney. When they affect kidney, they damage glomeruli and make them leak proteins. To enumerate some of them: Diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, multiple myeloma. To know more about them click here. 3. Allergy: There is proven evidence that Nephrotic Syndrome is more common in individuals with family history or prior history of allergy. In fact, in number of cases Nephrotic Syndrome is precipitated by a hypersensitive event (e.g. insect sting, ant bites, poison ivy, and immunizations). A few children have been reported with major food allergies along with Nephrotic Syndrome, and, in them, ultimate remission was associated with dietary elimination programs.

4. Infection: In some cases Nephrotic Syndrome is thought to be result of or after effect of infectious conditions like malaria, infective endocarditis, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, streptococcal throat infection, etc.

5. Drug toxicity: Certain modern medicines such as antibiotics (penicillin), antihypertensive medicines, gold preparations, etc are known to induce Nephrotic Syndrome in sensitive individuals. 6. Malignancy/ cancer: Cancers of kidneys or lymphatic system (Hodgkins lymphoma) have potential of inducing Nephrotic Syndrome. 7. Psychological factor: The mind plays a vital role in maintaining the health in general and in developing a wide range of disorders. There is proven evidence that emotional stress can produce alteration in our immune system. Some of the known causes of Nephrotic Syndrome like diabetes mellitus and SLE are offshoots of psychosocial stress. 8. Idiopathic: List is not complete without this entity, which means no cause can be identified. In vast majority cases of Nephrotic Syndrome exact cause cannot be pinpointed. During homeopathic management of Nephrotic Syndrome, a lot of stress is given towards causative factors and there are various medicines to encompass these factors. It will not be an over-exaggeration to state that homoeopathy was first to identify role of genetically determined tendencies as root cause of chronic diseases, which has now been confirmed by socalled modern medicine. Homeopaths take special effort to eliminate these predisposed tendencies and this goes in a long way in treating these chronic conditions rather than just suppressing their expressions.