Summary
From 166 renal biopsies of 153 patients who showed the dominating mesangial IgA deposits of “IgA-Nephropathy”, relationships were established between immunohistologic, histologic and clinical findings with the following results:
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1.
The immunohistologic picture of IgA-Nephropathy exhibits a broad histologic spectrum including cases with histologically normal findings as well as mesangioproliferative Gn with focal and diffuse crescents. Most often the morphologic changes are associated with a mild and moderately severe mesangioproliferative Gn.
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2.
According to the extent of the morphologic lesions no discrepancy between immunohistologic and histologic findings exists. Excluding a few cases with a focal accentuation of the histologic picture the histologic lesions as well as the immunofluorescence pattern are diffuse.
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3.
The immunohistologic picture of IgA-Nephropathy cannot be associated with uniform and characteristic clinical and morphologic pictures. Therefore, the predominant mesangial IgA deposits of the IgA-Nephropathy-type should not be regarded as a clinical — morphologic entity but rather as a specific immunohistologic symptom with possible different underlying pathomechanisms, probably controlled by a common genetically determined aberrant immune response with in consequence various morphologic reactions of different intensity and with a relatively favorable prognosis in most cases.
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Gärtner, H.V., Hönlein, F., Traub, U. et al. IgA-Nephropathy (IgA-IgG-Nephropathy/IgA-Nephritis) — a disease entity?. Virchows Arch. A Path. Anat. and Histol. 385, 1–27 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00433537
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00433537