What causes primary FSGS?

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS, can be caused by a variety of conditions, like diabetes, sickle cell disease, other kidney diseases, and obesity. It can also be caused by an infection and drug toxicity. A rare form of FSGS is caused by inherited abnormal genes. Sometimes there’s no identifiable cause.

How common is FSGS?

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is estimated to affect about 7 people per million people in the general population, although specific incidence rates vary in different populations. FSGS accounts for about 40\% of adults with nephrotic syndrome and about 20\% of children with nephrotic syndrome.

How many people in the US have FSGS?

In the U.S., approximately 40,000 people are living with FSGS, and more than 5,400 people are diagnosed with FSGS every year. This is considered an underestimate, however, because a limited number of biopsies are performed, and the number of FSGS cases are rising more than any other cause of Nephrotic Syndrome.

Is there a genetic test for FSGS?

Genetic testing in transplant Genetic testing may also be helpful in assessing the risk of FSGS recurrence in a transplanted kidney. Individuals with pathogenic NPHS2 mutations are significantly less likely to have recurrence of their disease in a transplanted kidney when compared to individuals with primary FSGS.

Is FSGS autoimmune?

What Causes FSGS? FSGS can be a result of an autoimmune disease, in which the body attacks itself without cause, or the result of a pre-existing medical condition such as the following: Kidney defects from birth.

How do you test for FSGS?

A blood test, urine test, and a kidney biopsy will determine if you have FSGS.

1. Urine test: A urine test will help find protein and blood in your urine.
2. Blood test: A blood test will help find levels of protein, cholesterol, and wastes in your blood.

What is Alports?

What is Alport syndrome? Alport syndrome is a disease that damages the tiny blood vessels in your kidneys. It can lead to kidney disease and kidney failure. It can also cause hearing loss and problems within the eyes. Alport syndrome causes damage to your kidneys by attacking the glomeruli.

What is global sclerosis?

Glomerulosclerosis refers to scarring or hardening of the glomeruli — blood vessels located in the kidneys. The glomeruli filter the blood as it passes through the kidneys. They remove waste fluids that then leave the body as urine.

What does frothy Pee mean?

Sometimes, urine can also foam up when it’s concentrated. Your urine is more concentrated if you haven’t had much water to drink and you’re dehydrated. Foamy urine can also indicate that you have too much of a protein, such as albumin, in your urine. The protein in your urine reacts with the air to create foam.

Can you live a long life with FSGS?

For others, the disease continues for many years but does not get worse. Some people with FSGS develop kidney failure. These people may need a kidney transplant or dialysis (ongoing treatment where a machine filters the blood instead of the kidneys). But many people with the disease live active, fulfilling lives.

Does FSGS affect children differently than adults?

The scarring of FSGS only takes place in small sections of each glomerulus (filter), and only a limited number of glomeruli are damaged at first. Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis affects both children and adults. Males are affected slightly more often than females, and it occurs more frequently in African Americans.

What are The racial predilections of FSGS in the US?

In 2004, Kitiyakara et al. ( 18) noted a two-decade-long trend of increasing ESRD attributed to FSGS in the United States. Incident rates, expressed as patients per million, were 6.8 in blacks, 3.7 in Hispanics, and 1.9 in whites. The rise in FSGS prevalence has been observed in other populations as well.

What is the incidence of FSGS in the US?

A population-based study in the southwestern United States examined 2501 adult kidney biopsies performed between the years 2000 and 2011 ( 17 ). Over the 12 years studied, FSGS was the most common diagnosis (39\% of biopsies), with an increasing incidence rate (from 1.6 to 5.3 patients per million).

What is the most common variant of FSGS?

The most common forms of FSGS seen in adaptive FSGS and across all etiologies of FSGS are the perihilar variant (periodic acid–Schiff stain, ×40) and not otherwise specified pattern (silver stain, ×400). The most distinctive variant is the collapsing variant (collapsing glomerulopathy; silver stain, ×40).