All issues > Volume 48(1); 2005

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2005;48(1):81-84. Published online January 15, 2005.

A Case of Hypocomplementemic Henoch-Schönlein Purpura Presenting Features of Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis

Kyong-A KA Lee¹, Tae-Sun TS Ha¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea

Correspondence Tae-Sun TS Ha ,Email: tsha@chungbuk.ac.kr

Abstract

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a systemic disorder characterized by leukocytoclastic vasculitis that can affect multiple organs predominantly the skin, joints, gastrointestinal tract and kidney. Although the specific pathogenesis of HSP is not known, there are several hypotheses. Although the importance of the complement activation in glomerular injury in HSP has been suggested, the complement levels and the blood pressure in those patients are usually normal and massive proteinuria is not common. And pathologic renal changes also have been reported to show a large variety of glomerular changes. However, to our knowledge, a membranoproliferative glomerulo-nephritis (MPGN) is a rare renal clinicopathologic manifestation of HSP. We report a 6-year-old boy with HSP who developed MPGN with hypertension, massive proteinuria, and hypo-complementemia revealed activation of the classical complement pathway, although we could not exclude the possibility of other hypocomplementemic glomerulonephritis including post-streptococcal acute glomerulonephritis.

Keywords :Henoch-Schönlein purpura, Hypocomplementemic glomerulonephritis, membranoproliferative glomerulonep