Knowra Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is a pattern of kidney injury in which parts of some glomeruli develop scars. It commonly causes proteinuria and may progress to kidney failure.
Podocyte : A specialized epithelial cell covering the outer surface of glomerular capillaries and helping maintain the filtration barrier. Podocyte damage is a central pathway to the proteinuria and scarring seen in this disease.
Glomerulus : A microscopic tuft of capillaries in the kidney that filters blood into the nephron. The disease’s defining scars occur in these filtration units.
Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis : FSGS without an identified adaptive, genetic, viral, or drug-related cause, often presenting with nephrotic syndrome. This form may prompt immunosuppressive treatment when the clinical and biopsy findings fit.
Minimal change disease : A glomerular disease causing nephrotic syndrome, with little change on light microscopy but podocyte injury on electron microscopy. Both can cause nephrotic syndrome, but minimal change disease lacks segmental scars on biopsy.
Circulating permeability factor : A proposed blood-borne substance that increases glomerular permeability to proteins. A circulating factor is one hypothesis for primary FSGS and its sometimes rapid post-transplant recurrence.
Glomerular filtration barrier : The layered structure that filters blood in the kidney while retaining blood cells and most proteins. Injury to this barrier allows albumin and other proteins to enter the urine.
Kidney biopsy : A procedure that removes a small kidney tissue sample for microscopic and laboratory examination. Biopsy establishes the lesion and helps distinguish its histologic variants and causes.
Secondary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis : FSGS caused by an identifiable condition, exposure, or adaptive response to increased nephron workload. Finding a secondary cause redirects care toward treating that cause rather than reflexive immunosuppression.
Membranous nephropathy : A glomerular disease characterized by immune-mediated thickening of the capillary wall and often nephrotic-range proteinuria. It is another major adult cause of nephrotic syndrome, but its biopsy pattern and immune findings differ.
FSGS recurrence after kidney transplantation : Return of FSGS-related proteinuria or lesions in a transplanted kidney after transplantation. Recurrence supports a potentially circulating mechanism, yet the responsible factor remains unsettled.
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