A clinical and immunopathological study of 304 cases of glomerulonephritis in Tunisia

Abstract

304 cases of glomerulonephritis were biopsied in Tunisia and studied morphologically. The incidence of glomerulonephritis with marked proliferation of endocapillary cells was 60%, a figure considerably higher than in other large series. Using a Clq binding assay, statistically significant levels of immune complexes were found in cases of acute proliferative glomerulonephritis. Amongst other types of glomerulonephritis, circulating immune complexes were frequently found in systemic lupus erythematosus but only in a low percentage of primary glomerulonephritis with or without immunoglobulin deposits.