title: A long-term follow-up study in essential cryoglobulinemia.
abstract: In a case series of 56 patients with essential cryoglobulinemia, 35 were followed-up for 4-13 years (mean 7 years). A membranous proliferative glomerulonephritis, which in about half the cases showed a progression to renal insufficiency, was the commonest complication, observed in more than one third of the patients. In 2 patients hepatic cirrhosis became manifest after a completely asymptomatic period and in 2 others a lymphoproliferative disease appeared 2 and 8 years after the onset of purpura. In 51% of patients the intial clinical pattern did not change. In searching for a correlation between the development of nephropathy and cryoglobulin characteristics, none was demonstrated studying the cryoglobulin level, the presence of autoantibody and the complement components.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D003450:Cryoglobulins / Q000032:analysis; D004247:DNA / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000209:etiology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000209:etiology; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010265:Paraproteinemias / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D008258:Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D001323:Autoantibodies; D003450:Cryoglobulins; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D004247:DNA