Saturday, 26 January 2019

Balkan nephropathy

Disease class: Interstitial nephritis

This refers to a chronic kidney disease endemic to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe.

 

Aetiology

  • The strongest hypothesis for the cause of Balkan nephropathy is ingestion of aristolochic acids. This is a group of compounds which are carcinogenic and nephrotoxic. They are produced by plants of the family Aristolochiaceae (birthworts). Aristolochia clematitis grows in the endemic region and may contaminate wheat consumed by the population.

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