Is nephrotic syndrome hereditary? What are the symptoms of nephrotic syndrome?

Can nephrotic syndrome be inherited? Many people worry about whether nephrotic syndrome is inherited, fearing that it will seriously affect the life and health of the next generation. However, many kidney diseases are not inherited, but some are still inherited. So is nephrotic syndrome hereditary?

According to experts, nephrotic syndrome, also known as kidney disease, is a syndrome caused by increased permeability of the glomerular basement membrane due to various causes, resulting in a large amount of plasma protein being lost in the urine. According to the cause, it can be divided into three categories: primary, secondary and congenital. The cause of primary kidney disease is unknown. According to its clinical manifestations, it is divided into two types: simple kidney disease and nephritic kidney disease, among which simple kidney disease is more common. Secondary kidney disease refers to the appearance of kidney disease symptoms based on a clearly diagnosed primary disease. Congenital kidney disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disease that usually occurs in neonates or within 3 months after birth. The condition is serious and often leads to death. Other genetic diseases are less common.

Symptoms of Nephrotic Syndrome

1. Massive proteinuria: Massive proteinuria is the most important clinical manifestation of NS patients and the most basic pathophysiological mechanism of nephrotic syndrome. Heavy proteinuria refers to urine protein excretion >3.5g/d in adults. Under normal physiological conditions, the glomerular filtration membrane has molecular barriers and charge barriers, which cause the protein content in the primary urine to increase. When it far exceeds the amount of reabsorption by the proximal tubule, a large amount of proteinuria is formed. On this basis, any factors that increase intraglomerular pressure and lead to high perfusion and high filtration (such as high blood pressure, high-protein diet or large-scale infusion of plasma protein) can aggravate the excretion of urinary protein.

2. Hypoproteinemia: Plasma albumin drops to <30g/L. In NS, a large amount of albumin is lost in the urine, which promotes the increase of compensatory albumin synthesis in the liver and renal tubular decomposition. Hypoalbuminemia occurs when the increase in hepatic albumin synthesis is insufficient to overcome loss and breakdown. In addition, NS patients may suffer from gastrointestinal mucosal edema, which leads to decreased diet, insufficient protein intake, malabsorption or loss, which also aggravates hypoalbuminemia.

In addition to the decrease in plasma albumin, certain plasma immunoglobulins (such as IgG) and complement components, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic factors, metal binding proteins and endocrine binding proteins may also decrease, especially when there is massive proteinuria, severe glomerular pathological damage and non-selective proteinuria. Patients are prone to complications such as infection, hypercoagulability, trace element deficiency, endocrine disorders and immune dysfunction.

3. Edema: In NS, hypoalbuminemia and decreased plasma colloid osmotic pressure cause water to enter the tissue space from the vascular cavity, which is the basic cause of NS edema. Recent studies have shown that about 50% of patients have normal or increased blood volume and normal or decreased plasma renin levels, suggesting that certain factors originating from sodium and water retention in the kidney play a certain role in the pathogenesis of NS edema.

4. Hyperlipidemia: The cause of NS combined with hyperlipidemia has not yet been fully elucidated. Hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertriglyceridemia, increased serum LDL, VLDL and lipoprotein (α) concentrations, often coexist with hypoproteinemia. Hypercholesterolemia is primarily due to increased lipoprotein synthesis in the liver, but decreased breakdown in the peripheral circulation also plays a part. Hypertriglyceridemia is mainly caused by metabolic disorders, with increased hepatic synthesis as a secondary factor.

Is nephrotic syndrome hereditary? Through the detailed introduction above, everyone now has some understanding of this issue. If there is still something unclear, you need to go to the hospital for a detailed understanding and listen to the doctor's advice.