Causes of Glomerulonephritis

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Glomerulonephritis is usually caused by changes in the bodyâ€™s immune system. This is a complicated process involving antigens and antibodies. Antigens are foreign substances in the body such as proteins and toxins. Antibodies circulate in the blood and their job is to get rid of antigens. If these antigens and antibodies gather in the kidneys for any reason it can cause an inflammatory reaction (swelling). This reaction may just affect the kidney or may cause problems in other parts of the body.

Anyone who already has a chronic (long-term) autoimmune condition, such as lupus is at risk of developing glomerulonephritis. An autoimmune condition means that the body attacks its own cells accidentally.

Commonly, acute glomerulonephritis is linked to streptococci bacteria (beta haemolytic). This is referred to as acute post streptococcal glomerulonephritis (ASGN) and can follow a throat or skin infection.

Glomerulonephritis is also recognised as a serious complication of some other infections including AIDS/HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, TB and syphilis. For this reason, injecting drug users are particularly at risk of developing glomerulonephritis.

Glomerulonephritis is a complication of many other diseases, including:

cancer and leukaemia,
hodgkinâ€™s disease,
diabetes,
Goodpastureâ€™s syndrome (an autoimmune disorder that affects the lungs and kidneys),
liver disease, and
sickle cell disease.

It is also recognised as a side effect of long-term use of certain drugs. Such drugs include, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (eg ibuprofen), gold injections (used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis), lithium (used in the treatment of depression) and penicillamine (used in the treatment of arthritis). Your GP should monitor your kidney function with renal tests if you are taking medicines that affect the function of the kidney.