I have been having swelling in my ankles for last 8 months or so. My urine test showed leakage of proteins Doctor advised Kidney biopsy. the result was membranous nephropathy. Can you tell me what it is? And treatment? My email address is: YYYY@YYYY
Dear Patient, membranous nephropathy is in 80% of cases an autoimmune disease. It should be treated with immunosuppressive therapy if it is related only to your immune system (in particular we use rituximab, cyclosporine or the so called Monticello schedule) and if in 6 months does not disappear by itself. However, this disease may be secondary to many etiologies, that should be investigated and excluded by your nephrologist. There are new tools to understand the nature of the disease, in particular antibodies against PLA2R, which define an autoimmune form. The discussion may be very long, I can say that the diagnosis is only a starting point to a broader clinical investigation. Let me know,