Drs. D’Agati and Mengel provide an excellent review on the history and evolution of kidney pathology. The article clearly highlights how the important contributions of nephropathologists have improved our understanding of kidney diseases and recognizes the landmark contributions of many of the most important figures in this field. Being a renal pathologist, the review reassured […]
Invited commentary by Dr. Parmjeet Randhawa In the December issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Shi et al describe a patient with B-cell lymphoma presenting as acute kidney injury (AKI). Lymphomas in the kidney usually present as a mass lesion, typically after the diagnosis of lymphoma has already been established by biopsy of […]
In a teaching case recently published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Gnemmi et al report on two unusual cases of cast nephropathy associated with light chain deposition disease in patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. The mechanisms associated with intra-tubular cast formation are incompletely understood. “Cast nephropathy” results from excessive production of monoclonal immunoglobulin chains. […]
Sethi et al continue their important contributions to the AJKD Kidney Biopsy Teaching Case series. This month they report on case of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with mutations in complement factor H and C3 proteins. Hitherto most mutations in this clinical setting have been localized to podocytes, with the exception of LAMB2, which is a glomerular […]
In the June issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Nasr et al report a variety of kidney biopsy findings in patients with multiple myeloma. This large retrospective study showcases the vast pathology seen in the kidney with paraproteinemias. The spectrum of kidney disease noted ranged from myeloma cast nephropathy to immunotactoid disease. The […]
In a recent article published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Keddis et al present a very instructive case of adenoviral infection in an umbilical cord blood transplant recipient. The patient presented with acute kidney injury in the setting of hemorrhagic cystitis. A kidney biopsy showed a granulomatous interstitial nephritis, and a diagnosis of […]
In a recent teaching case published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, Sharma et al describes a fascinating case of fibrillary glomerulonephritis that presented as rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Fibrillary glomerulonephritis is a rare disease associated with hepatitis C, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. It falls under a category of pathologic diseases with organized deposits. The […]
Acute interstitial nephritis is an important finding in biopsies performed for acute kidney injury in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. Infection and drug-induced injury are the two most important underlying causes. Less common diagnostic entities include immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome and diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome. In a recent article published in the American Journal of […]
Invited Commentary by Dr. Surya Seshan Minimal change disease (MCD) is the most common cause of steroid-responsive glomerular disease with selective proteinuria. A number of animal models (induced by puromycin, protamine sulfate, etc) were developed to elucidate some of the biochemical pathogenetic mechanisms involved in MCD, including loss of charge selectivity and podocyte injury. None […]
Nephropathology: A Nephrologist’s Perspective
Invited commentary by Dr. Vivekanand Jha D’Agati and Mengel provide a fascinating account of the history of kidney pathology over last 60 years. As they note, it is impossible to imagine nephrology as it exists today without acknowledging the major, even pivotal, contributions of pathologists. Except structural abnormalities that can be detected by imaging, the […]