HEPARINES - A NEW TREATMENT FOR MESANGIOP ROLIFERATIVE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS

At current there exists no established treatment for mesangioprolifera tive glomerulonephritis. One form, the IgA nephropathy, is the most co mmon glomerular disease in the western world. This article summarizes studies of the use of heparines in experimental and human glomerulonep hritis. The different animal models are discussed, especially the anti Thy 1.1 nephritis. This mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis is u sed as an experimental animal model for the human IgA nephropathy beca use the histological (but not the immunohistological) changes are simi lar. In experimental studies with animals the positive effects of both conventional and non-anticoagulative heparine could be shown: both ar e capable of inhibiting the abnormal mesangial cell proliferation and matrix production in the course of the disease. An older therapeutic s tudy has already shown a positive effect of heparine on human glomerul ar diseases, though the effect was only passager. Whereas a long-term treatment with conventional heparine bears the risk of inducing hepari ne-associated side effects such as bleeding and osteoporosis, non-anti coagulative heparines promise to be a new alternative for the treatmen t of mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis.