Membranous nephropathy

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Blood enters your kidneys through your renal arteries. Your kidneys remove excess fluid and waste material from your blood through units called nephrons. Each nephron contains a filter (glomerulus) that has a network of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. The glomeruli filter waste products and substances your body needs — such as sodium, phosphorus and potassium — which then pass through tiny tubules. The substances your body needs are reabsorbed into your bloodstream. The waste products flow through the ureters — the tubes that lead to the bladder.

Membranous nephropathy (MEM-bruh-nus nuh-FROP-uh-thee) occurs when the small blood vessels in the kidney (glomeruli), which filter wastes from the blood, become damaged and thickened. As a result, proteins leak from the damaged blood vessels into the urine (proteinuria). For many, loss of these proteins eventually causes signs and symptoms known as nephrotic syndrome.

In mild cases, membranous nephropathy may get better on its own, without any treatment. As protein leakage increases, so does the risk of long-term kidney damage. In many, the disease ultimately leads to kidney failure. There’s no absolute cure for membranous nephropathy, but successful treatment can lead to remission of proteinuria and a good long-term outlook.

Membranous nephropathy may develop gradually, so you may not suspect that anything is wrong. As you lose protein from your blood, swelling in your legs and ankles and weight gain from excess fluid can occur. Many people have lots of swelling from the very beginning of the disease, but others may not have any severe symptoms until they have advanced kidney disease.

Signs and symptoms of membranous nephropathy include:

Make an appointment with your doctor if you have:

Often, membranous nephropathy results from some type of autoimmune activity. Your body’s immune system mistakes healthy tissue as foreign and attacks it with substances called autoantibodies. These autoantibodies target certain proteins located in the kidney’s filtering systems (glomeruli). This is known as primary membranous nephropathy.

Sometimes membranous nephropathy is brought on by other causes. When this happens, it’s called secondary membranous nephropathy. Causes may include:

Membranous nephropathy may also occur along with other kidney diseases, such as diabetic nephropathy and rapidly progressive (crescentic) glomerulonephritis.

Factors that can increase your risk of membranous nephropathy include:

Complications associated with membranous nephropathy include:

Membranous nephropathy care at Mayo Clinic

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Membranous nephropathy

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