We report the case of a 90-year-old lady who presented with full-blown
nephrotic syndrome. Percutaneous renal biopsy allowed us to confirm t
he diagnosis of minimal change glomerulopathy; she entered a 2-year pe
riod of remission after a 6-month course of prednisone (starting dose
1.5 mg/kg). The patient sustained minor effects of both renal biopsy a
nd corticotherapy. Percutaneous renal biopsy is justified in the very
elderly because the risk of mortality and morbidity related to cortico
therapy outweigh the risk related to percutaneous renal biopsy, provid
ing high-risk patients are excluded, such as amyloidosis or abnormal c
oagulation or uncontrolled arterial hypertension.