Goodpasture syndrome

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Kidney blood supply

Goodpasture syndrome is a rare disease that can involve rapidly progressive kidney failure along with lung disease.

However, some forms of the disease involve just the lung or kidney, not both.

Anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody disease; Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis with pulmonary hemorrhage; Pulmonary renal syndrome; Glomerulonephritis - pulmonary hemorrhage

Goodpasture syndrome is an autoimmune disorder, a condition that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. Persons with this syndrome develop substances that attack a protein called collagen in the tiny air sacs in the lungs and the filtering units (glomureli) of the kidney.

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These substances are called anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies. Glomerular basement membrane is a part of the kidneys that helps filter waste and extra fluid from the blood. Anti-glomerular basement membrane are antibodies against this membrane. They can lead to kidney damage.

Sometimes the disorder is triggered by a viral respiratory infection or by breathing in hydrocarbon solvents. In such cases, the immune system may attack organs or tissues because it mistakes them for these viruses or foreign chemicals.

The immune system's faulty response causes bleeding in the air sacs and inflammation in the kidney's filtering units.

Men are eight times more likely to be affected than women. The disease most commonly occurs in early adulthood.

Review Date: 08/13/2009
Reviewed By: Parul Patel, MD, Private Practice specializing in Nephrology and Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Affiliated with California Pacific Medical Center, Department of Transplantation, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).