Balkan endemic nephropathy is still present in the Kolubara region, Serbia.
BACKGROUND
Almost 50 years ago Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN) was first described in Serbia in the village of Sopić where the first field examination was carried out in 1971. Our aim was to find out whether BEN is still present in this region.


METHODS
Prevalence data on BEN from a field examination run in 1971 were compared with the results of a cross-sectional study conducted in the same village in 1992. In addition, every new case of the disease diagnosed between 1971 and 1992 was recorded retrospectively. The prospective study included 50 members of five BEN families randomly selected from 28 BEN families registered in the village Sopić in 1992. The objective survey and examination of global and tubular kidney function was carried out in all examined persons once yearly in 1998, 1999, and 2000.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of BEN was 6.4% in 1971 and 8.9% in 1992. In the period of 21 years, 161 new BEN patients were detected in 28 families in which the disease had already been recorded. No new family affected by BEN and none of the new patients in 47 families registered previously as nonaffected were discovered. In the prospective study of five BEN families, three new BEN cases were discovered among 50 members, and two patients fulfilled criteria for BEN-suspected ones.


CONCLUSIONS
Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN) is still present in the village of Sopić, but the clinical course of the disease became more protracted over time. New cases of BEN appeared only in the affected families.
Bukvić
Danica
D
Institute of Endemic Nephropathy, Lazarevac, Serbia and Montenegro.
Janković
Slavenka
S
Arsenović
Aleksandra
A
Djukanović
Ljubica
L
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001449:Balkan Nephropathy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate; D015022:Yugoslavia / Q000453:epidemiology