title: Hepatitis B virus-associated glomerulonephritis: electron microscopic studies in 98 children.
abstract: Ninety-eight children with glomerulonephritis concomitant with hepatitis B surface HBs antigenemia were studied, the antigenemia being first documented at the clinical onset of glomerulopathy. Initial diagnoses, based on examination of the paraffin sections, varied, membrano-proliferative, mesangial, and membranous glomerulonephritis being most frequently considered. However, electron microscopic examination showed that 77 children had a uniform type of glomerulopathy, irrespective of the light microscopic appearance. This type was diagnosed as secondary membranous glomerulonephritis. The clinical course of this nephropathy was relatively indolent and short. Moreover, in many children, elimination of some hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigens from the circulation was also associated with clinical remission of glomerulopathy. The remaining 21 children with HBs antigenemia had various morphological forms of glomerulonephritis, these being similar to their idiopathic counterparts in both morphology and clinical course. The distinct clinical and morphological picture of secondary membranous glomerulonephritis with HBs antigenemia occurring in 77 of 98 children supports the hypothesis that HBsV-associated glomerulonephritis is of the secondary membranous type. Thus, we conclude that in children HBV antigenemia associated with glomerulonephritis other than secondary membranous is coincidental.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Medical School Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wrzołkowa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zurowska
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uszycka-Karcz
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Picken
mesh_terms: D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens