Nephrotic syndrome is not a disease in its own right, but a combination of several symptoms caused by damage to the kidneys. The severity of the symptoms can vary greatly; some sufferers often have hardly any symptoms, while others have very severe symptoms.
Below you will find further information and selected specialists for the treatment of nephrotic syndrome.
Damage to the kidneys causes some typical symptoms in nephrotic syndrome. These are mainly caused by the loss of proteins that are important for the body. This is why the following symptoms in particular occur in nephrotic syndrome:
Nephrotic syndrome occurs due to damage to the kidneys. A distinction is made between primary kidney disease and secondary kidney disease. In primary kidney disease, the disease originates from the kidneys themselves, while secondary disease is the result of another disease.
The kidneys filter the blood and cleanse it of metabolic waste products. Larger particles, such as sugar and proteins, normally remain in the blood. In addition, the kidneys also control blood pressure by regulating the water balance and keeping certain blood salts in the correct ratio.
The filter function in the kidneys is performed by the so-called renal corpuscles and the renal tubules. Together, these two form the smallest unit of the kidney, the nephron.
Nephrotic syndrome is caused by damaged renal corpuscles. The damage causes the renal corpuscles to become increasingly permeable until at some point they can no longer filter properly. As a result, many important blood components, such as proteins, are no longer retained. As a result, the symptoms mentioned above develop. Impaired kidney function can be caused by various diseases:
Anatomy of the kidney: 6: Renal pelvis. 7: Ureter. 12: Renal corpuscles. 13: Nephron
If nephrotic syndrome is suspected, a doctor must assess the symptoms. The doctor can often get important clues for the diagnosis from the typical symptoms alone.
In addition, a urine test is carried out in which a test strip is immersed in the urine for a few minutes. If the values obtained are abnormally high, a second test is usually carried out. This involves a more precise protein determination, which is why the test is carried out with a urine sample collected over 24 hours. Normally, a healthy person excretes no more than 150 milligrams of protein per day. In nephrotic syndrome, this value can be 3500 milligrams or more per day.
In addition to the urine test, a blood test is carried out and a tissue sample is taken from the kidney as part of a minor surgical procedure and examined histologically. In this way, the cause of the disease can be determined.
Treatment is not aimed at the nephrotic syndrome itself, but at the underlying disease. If this can be treated well, the nephrotic syndrome usually disappears after a while. In many cases, the filter function of the kidneys is retained. However, if the kidneys are too severely damaged by the nephrotic syndrome, chronic kidney weakness or kidney failure can occur over time.
If the underlying disease cannot be treated, the aim of therapy is to alleviate the symptoms of nephrotic syndrome.
To normalize high blood pressure, doctors often use drugs such as ACE inhibitors. High blood pressure must be lowered in any case, as this causes additional damage to the kidneys.
In addition to treating high blood pressure, edema is also treated with medication. The water retention is flushed out with dehydrating agents, also known as diuretics. To prevent the formation of new edema, the patient must not drink more than prescribed by the doctor. The same applies to the intake of table salt (no more than six grams per day). It is also important to regularly check the mineral salt content in the blood, as diuretics increase the excretion of electrolytes.
As nephrotic syndrome increases the risk of blood clots, patients are also given medication that inhibits blood clotting. Thrombosis stockings also prevent the formation of blood clots.
