Renal diseases and pathophysiology

Relation to anemia

Erythropoietin (EPO) tells your body to make red blood cells. When you have kidney disease, your kidneys cannot make enough EPO. Low EPO levels cause your red blood cell count to drop and anemia to develop. Most people with kidney disease will develop anemia.

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/what_anemia_ckd

*Anemia - lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body's tissues

Relation to chronic kideny disease

When kidneys are damaged, they produce less erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that signals bone marrow—the spongy tissue inside most of bones—to make red blood cells. With less EPO, body makes fewer red blood cells, and less oxygen is delivered to your organs and tissues.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/anemia

Kidney function tests measure how efficiently your kidneys are working. Most of these tests check how well your kidneys clear waste from your system.

Urine Tests

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Glomerulonephritis is an inflammatory process that involves glomerular structures and damage the tiny filters of kidneys. 

Most cases of primary and many cases of secondary glomerular disease probably
have an immune origin. Although many glomerular diseases are driven by immunologic events, a variety of nonimmunologic metabolic (e.g., diabetes), hemodynamic (e.g., hypertension), and toxic (e.g., drugs, chemicals) stresses can induce glomerular injury, either alone or along with immunologic mechanisms.

Glomerulonephritis can be caused by various of factors including:

• Toxins or medicines.
• Viral infections, such as HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses.
• IgA nephropathy.
• Lupus-related kidney inflammation.
• Bacterial infections that commonly cause throat and skin infections, such as strep or staph bacteria.

Two types of immune mechanisms have been implicated in the development of glomerular disease:

1. Injury resulting from antibodies reacting with fixed glomerular antigens or antigens planted within the glomerulus;
2. Injury resulting from circulating antigen–antibody complexes that become trapped in the glomerular membrane

Glomerulonephritis signs and symptoms may include:

• Pink or cola-colored urine from red blood cells in your urine (hematuria)
• Foamy or bubbly urine due to excess protein in the urine (proteinuria)
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Fluid retention (edema) with swelling evident in your face, hands, feet and abdomen
• Urinating less than usual
• Nausea and vomiting
• Muscle cramps
• Fatigue

Glomerulonephritis is inflammation and damage to the filtering part of the kidneys (glomerulus). It can come on quickly or over a longer period of time. Toxins, metabolic wastes and excess fluid are not properly filtered into the urine. Instead, they build up in the body causing swelling and fatigue.