The symptoms of Lupus Nephritis

Lupus Nephritis or lupus glomerulonephritis is when an inflammation of the kidney occurs and is caused by the disease of the immune system called "systemic lupus erythematosus" or "SLE". It is estimated that approximately one third of the individuals who have systemic lupus erythematosus will develop Lupus Nephritis. Many patients may be wondering what the symptoms of Lupus Nephritis.
There are typically few apparent symptoms or signs of Lupus Nephritis. A patient with Lupus Nephritis will typically not feel pain in the abdomen or back, however, when kidney damage has occurred due to SLE, it will cause an excess amount of protein to leak from the kidneys into the urine causing frequent urination and when the urine is excreted it may appear frothy.
This loss of protein can cause "edema" which is water retention that causes the swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, and also causes an individual to gain weight. Swelling is typically not noticed in the morning and begins to occur during the day becoming progressively worse.
The clinical path of Lupus Nephritis is highly variable.
1) Often the signs of Lupus Nephritis are seen only in urine studies.
· In many people, the urine abnormalities are very mild and may be present during one examination and absent the next.
· This form of Lupus Nephritis is rather common and generally does not require any special medical evaluation or treatment.
2) In some people, though, abnormal findings in the urine studies may persist or even worsen over time.
· People with this type of Lupus Nephritis are at risk for loss of kidney function.
· These individuals will need additional studies to assess the extent of their Lupus Nephritis and to determine the best treatment for controlling the disease.