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Overview of AGN
There are many diseases that cause an active inflammation within the glomeruli. Some of these
diseases are systemic (i.e., other parts of the body are involved at the same time) and some
occur solely in the glomeruli. When there is active inflammation within the kidney, scar tissue
may replace normal, functional kidney tissue and cause irreversible renal impairment.
In diffuse glomerulonephritis (GN), all of the glomeruli are aggressively attacked, leading
to acute renal failure (ARF). Disorders that attack several organs and cause diffuse GN are
referred to as secondary causes. Secondary causes of diffuse GN include the following:
Cryoglobulinemia
Lupus nephritis
Schönlein-Henoch purpura
Primary diseases that solely affect the kidneys and cause AGN, include the following:
Patients who have secondary causes of AGN often exhibit these symptoms:
Fever
Rash
Patients with acute glomerulonephritis (AGN) have an active urinary sediment. This means that
signs of active kidney inflammation can be detected when the urine is examined under the
microscope. Such signs include red blood cells, white blood cells, proteinuria (blood proteins in
the urine), and "casts" of cells that have leaked through the glomeruli and have reached the
tubule, where they develop into cylindrical forms.
A kidney biopsy is essential to establish a diagnosis of AGN, determine the cause, and create an
effective treatment plan.
The goal of treatment is to stop the ongoing inflammation and lessen the degree of scarring
that ensues. Depending on the diagnosis, there are different treatment strategies. Often the
treatment warrants a regimen of immunosuppressive drugs to limit the immune system’s
activity. This decreases the degree of inflammation and subsequent irreversible scarring.