Histomorphological Spectrum of Glomerulopathies: A Review

Abstract

Renal disease and dysfunction is a worldwide public health problem. The underlying pathology in most renal disease is glomerulopathy, largely referred to as glomerulonephritis. It can be primary or secondary to other diseases. A range of morphological patterns was observed in this condition, each with different etiopathogenetic mechanisms, diverse clinical presentation, disease progression and therapeutic responses. We searched the literature using Hinari, PubMed and Google Scholar, for appropriate studies. This review was conducted by employing specified methods and structures using histopathology-confirmed data during the year 2011 to 2020. Thirty-five studies consisting of 13,423 reported renal biopsy cases were covered in this review. The most common indication of the renal biopsy was nephrotic syndrome followed by proteinuria and nephritic syndrome. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, minimal change disease, and mesangio-capillary glomerulonephritis among others, were the most frequently reported primary patterns of glomerulopathies. Glomerular diseases remain poorly characterized due to the scarcity of data on histo-morphological patterns of glomerulopathies. The development of registries regarding renal biopsy may offer a chance to characterize the pervasiveness and patterns of glomerulopathies and have a positive impression on chronic/end stage renal disease analysis and treatment since most glomerular diseases are complaisant to treatment.