Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of minimal change disease is unknown. It is suggested that cell-mediated immune reactions to kidney antigens, with subsequent cytokine release, are important.
The supporting evidence is largely circumstantial:
- MCD responds dramatically to immunosuppression e.g. steroid therapy, cyclosporin and cyclophosphamide
- MCD may be associated with Hodgkin's disease in which abnormalities of cellular immunity are well established
- MCD may show spontaneous improvement in infections that depress cellular immunity, for example, measles
The cytokines are thought to increase glomerular permeability by altering the charge distribution along the glomerular basement membrane.
Related pages
Create an account to add page annotations
Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.