Focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) is a pattern of
kidney damage, in which a part of filters (glomeruli) are badly impaired. It is
a severe form of Nephrotic Syndrome featured by massive protein in
urine. Then, what are symtpoms of FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis)?
Edema, swelling (especially in the legs) People with FSGS could find swelling
in the legs, on the face and eventually spreads to the whole body. That's
because albumin holds fluid in blood vessels, and if you don' t have albumin in
your blood vessels, you leak fluid into the area around those blood vessels,
which you see when you push your finger or your thumb into your ankle and you
see an little pit or indentation. This is called pitting edema.
So what you'll see in some patients, edema or swelling of your ankles or
legs, your albumin will be low in your blood, your cholesterol will be high, and
over the course of time, if your disease is not well treated, you may have a
decline in kidney function. So,you may care about "How to Find FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis) Earlier".
High blood pressure High blood pressure or hypertension is a very common symptoms of FSGS(Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis). It could accelerate the progress of kidney disease. In the adults,
about 30~50% patients with FSGS have mild and persistent high blood pressure.
The hypertension in people with FSGS can often be very difficult to treat.
Bloody urine. Similar causes with foamy urine, red blood
cells will be filtered out when glomerular can not work well. This forms bloody
urine.
Headache. Some patients who suffer from FSGS also show the
symptom of headache.
More than 50% of the patients have manifestations of Nephrotic Syndrome,
presenting obvious clinical manifestations of “three highs and one low”. A few
patients are without obvious symptoms and proteinuria can sometimes be found in
routine urine test. This asymptomatic proteinuria can last for a long time but
with a good prognosis.
None of the above Focal segmental glomerular sclerosis(FSGS) symptoms, or even all of them together, is specific for
FSGS. If you or your doctor are concerned about FSGS, the only way to know for
sure is to have a kidney biopsy.