A 78-year-old male with nephrotic syndrome was referred to our center by his primary care physician. The patient had a history of hypertension since the age of 45 years, hypothyroidism since the age of 68 years and diabetes mellitus since the age of 70 years. He also had a history of percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary artery disease and femoropopliteal bypass surgery for peripheral arterial disease at the age of 74 years, and a history of Wallenberg syndrome since the age of 77 years. He was being treated with an angiotensin II receptor blocker, a calcium-channel blocker, pitavastatin, aspirin and levothyroxine sodium hydrate. Diabetic control by diet and an oral α-glucosidase inhibitor were sufficient. There was no evidence of retinopathy or albuminuria before the episode of nephrosis. His urinalysis on admission was positive for proteinuria (2.5 g/day) and red blood cells (1–4/hpf). His blood chemistry findings were as follows: albumin 3.2 g/dl, creatinine 1.11 mg/dl and HbA1c 6.1%. A kidney biopsy revealed 21 glomeruli, of which 2 were globally sclerotic. The glomeruli showed increased mesangial matrices and mild GBM thickening. Massive foam cells had infiltrated into the glomerular capillaries and mesangial region (fig. ). These foam cells stained positive with Oil Red O (fig. ) and immunohistochemically stained positive for CD68 (fig. ). Transmission electron microscope images also revealed foam cell infiltration mainly located in the capillaries, and some mesangial cells showed scattered lipid droplets in their cytoplasm (fig. ). Mild interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (20% of the cortical region) as well as moderate arteriosclerosis and arteriolar hyalinosis were found. The foamy change was seen in some tubular epithelial cells but no interstitial foamy cells were found. Immunofluorescence studies revealed segmental deposits of IgM and C3 in the mesangial area and slightly peripheral IgG deposits in the glomeruli; however, no significant deposit was found by electron microscopy. He had an apoE2 homozygote phenotype and the Arg158Cys genotype with no other mutations. After the diagnosis, ezetimibe was added to his statin therapy. The patient's most recent serum creatinine was increased to 2.1 mg/dl after 2 years.
The patient is a 28-year-old Hispanic female with a past medical history of\nhypertension, high serum cholesterol, and gastritis who presented to the emergency\nroom for the evaluation of abdominal pain of 2 days duration. Six months prior, she\nhad similar pain. An upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy at that time showed\npeptic ulcer disease and no other mucosal lesions. The patient had a strong family\nhistory of renal disease and 2 of her siblings required a renal transplant, but she\ndid not know what kidney pathology they had. Her medications included Lisinopril\noral 10 mg tablet daily and Pantoprazole oral 40 mg daily. On presentation at the\nemergency room (ER), her height and weight were 157 cm and 61 kg, respectively, and\nher blood pressure was 206/121 mm Hg. On physical examination, the patient had\nepigastric tenderness. The rest of her physical examination was unremarkable.\nRadiology was ordered to exclude any anatomical abnormality. A computed tomography\nscan showed neither atrophy nor enlargement of the kidneys. She then followed up as\nan outpatient with a nephrologist shortly after her ER visit. Her laboratory work up\nduring that visit revealed the following: nephrotic range proteinuria (9.2 g protein\non 24-hour urine collection; reference range, 0-2.5 g/d), hypoalbuminemia (300\nµmol/L; reference range, 421-662 µmol/L), hypoproteinemia (50 g/L; reference range,\n60-80 g/L), elevated serum creatinine (148.5 µmol/L; reference range, 44-80 μmol/L),\nhigh chloride (110 mmol/L; reference range, 98-106 mmol/L), and low hemoglobin (100\ng/L; reference range, 120-160 g/L). The lipid profile showed an increased total\ncholesterol level (8.3 mmol/L; reference range, <5.2 mmol/L), elevated\ntriglycerides (3.7 mmol/L; reference range, <1.70 mmol/L), elevated low-density\nlipoprotein fraction (5.9 mmol/L; reference range, <2.6 mmol/L), and decreased\nhigh-density lipoprotein fraction (1.1 mmol/L; reference range, ≥1.55 mmol/L). After\ntreating her blood pressure, the patient underwent a US-guided renal biopsy.