Understanding Nephrotic Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Nephrotic syndrome is a type of kidney damage, causing it to secret too much protein out of the blood and into the urine.
The kidney’s job is to get rid of waist, toxins and excess water in your body and excrete them into the urine and out of your body. It does it by filtering your blood in tiny structures known as nephrons, and separating unnecessary substance from essentials such as salts, proteins and red blood cells.
In some cases, nephrotic syndrome is caused by a condition that affects only your kidneys, for example ״minimal change disease״ and ״focal segmental glomerulosclerosis״ (FSGS). In other cases, it can be caused by a disease that affects other organs as well, such as Diabetes and Lupus.
Over time, nephrotic syndrome might lead to kidney failure.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Nephrotic Syndrome with Lesion of Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis
- Nephrotic Syndrome with Lesion of Minimal Change Glomerulonephritis
- Nephrotic Syndrome with Lesion of Membranous Glomerulonephritis
- Nephrotic Syndrome with Lesion of Proliferative Glomerulonephritis

Signs & symptoms

The most common symptoms are swelling around your eyes and ankles, weight gain and fatigue.
Other common symptom is the formation of blood clots in the veins of your legs, that can travel to your lungs and cause shortness of breath.
Your urine might appear ״frothy״ due to high levels of protein.

Diagnosis

Nephrotic syndrome is diagnosed based on blood and urine tests:
-Urine test- to check the amount of protein and other unwanted substances in your urine.
-Blood test- nephrotic syndrome can cause your blood lipids levels to increase (called hyperlipidemia) and your albumin, which is the main protein in the blood, to decrease (called hypoalbuminemia).
-Kidney biopsy may be needed to complete the diagnosis. A small part of your kidney’s nephron will be taken out and examined under the microscope.

Treatment

The treatment varies according to your symptoms, kidney function and cause of the disease.
If you suffer from high blood pressure, it is important to control it and prevent further damage to your kidneys. One or more medications may be needed.
If your blood tests showed high levels of lipids, cholesterol-lowering drugs might become necessary.
You doctor might recommend cutting-off salty food and unsaturated fats from your diet, to protect your kidneys and reduce swelling.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

Learn more about our editorial process for content accuracy.

Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital