Nephrotic Syndrome Causes
Nephrotic Syndrome is the outcome of a number of diseases that damage the filtering units of the kidneys in a specific way that allows them to leak protein into the urine. Hence there is an array of diseases, which eventually end up in Nephrotic Syndrome. Some of the diseases that cause Nephrotic Syndrome, such as nephritis, affect only the kidney. Other diseases that cause Nephrotic Syndromes, such as diabetes and lupus erythematosus, affect other parts of the body as well. It should be also noted that in the vast majority of cases the exact cause cannot be pinpointed. The most common causes could be listed as under:
01 Local diseases (primarily affecting kidneys)
02 Systemic diseases (affecting various systems of the body, one of them being the kidney)
03 Allergy
04 Secondary to infections
05 Ill effects of drugs (e.g. antibiotics like penicillin or drugs given to control blood pressure)
06 Malignancy
07 Psychological factors
08 Idiopathic (Unknown causes)
01 Local causes:
This group categorizes all those conditions, which directly and primarily affect kidneys and damage glomeruli. Such conditions are largely termed nephropathies or glomerulopathies. Some of them may be present since birth (e.g. congenital nephrosis) and others may be acquired during a lifetime. Glomerulonephritis (GN) occupies a peak position among glomerulopathies causing Nephrotic Syndrome. In GN, the kidneys' filters become inflamed and scarred and slowly lose their ability to remove wastes and excess water from the blood to make urine.
The basis of various nephropathies causing Nephrotic Syndrome is related to problems in the body's immune system. Under normal circumstances, the immune system protects the body against invasion by foreign materials such as viruses and bacteria. However, if the immune system is not working properly, the kidneys may be harmed. The immune system may mistakenly attack the kidneys' filters (glomeruli) and cause them to become inflamed. To know more about this click here.
There are many variants of GN, basically depending upon how the kidneys look under a microscope in particular conditions. To know more about them click here.
03 Allergy:
There is proven evidence that Nephrotic Syndrome is more common in individuals with a family history or prior history of allergy. In fact, in a number of cases, Nephrotic Syndrome is precipitated by a hypersensitive event (e.g. insect sting, ant bites, poison ivy, and immunizations).
A few children have been reported with major food allergies along with Nephrotic Syndrome, and, in them, ultimate remission was associated with dietary elimination programs.
04 Infection:
In some cases, Nephrotic Syndrome is thought to be a result of or after effect of infectious conditions like malaria, infective endocarditis, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, streptococcal throat infection, etc.
05 Drug toxicity:
Certain modern medicines such as antibiotics (penicillin), antihypertensive medicines, gold preparations, etc are known to induce Nephrotic Syndrome in sensitive individuals.
06 Malignancy/ cancer:
Cancers of the kidneys or lymphatic system (Hodgkin’s lymphoma) have the potential of inducing Nephrotic Syndrome.
07 Psychological factor:
The mind plays a vital role in maintaining health in general and in developing a wide range of disorders. There is proven evidence that emotional stress can produce alteration in our immune system. Some of the known causes of Nephrotic Syndrome like diabetes mellitus and SLE are offshoots of psychosocial stress.
08 Idiopathic:
List is not complete without this entity, which means no cause can be identified. In the vast majority of cases of Nephrotic Syndrome, the exact cause cannot be pinpointed.
During homeopathic management of Nephrotic Syndrome, a lot of stress is given to causative factors and there are various medicines to encompass these factors. It will not be an over-exaggeration to state that homeopathy was the first to identify the role of genetically determined tendencies as the root cause of chronic diseases, which has now been confirmed by so-called modern medicine. Homeopaths take a special effort to eliminate these predisposed tendencies and this goes in a long way in treating these chronic conditions rather than just suppressing their expressions.