Glomerulosclerosis

Your kidneys contain thousands of tiny blood vessels called glomeruli, which filter waste products from your blood. When these blood vessels become scarred, it is known as glomerulosclerosis. That is a general term to describe the scarring, which can be caused by different factors. For example, one type of frequently occurring glomerulosclerosis is caused by diabetes.

Once glomeruli are scarred, Western Medicine believes they cannot be repaired. Instead, the condition is treated by slowing down the process. Often, patients with glomerulosclerosis gradually get worse until their kidneys fail, which is called end stage renal disease (ERSD). If you have ERSD, you will need to go on dialysis or get a new kidney transplanted. It can take anywhere from a year or 10 or more years to reach end stage renal disease once glomerulosclerosis is diagnosed.

Controlling blood pressure is one of the most important ways to treat glomerulosclerosis. There are blood pressure drugs called ACE inhibitors which can preserve kidney function in people who have diabetes and those who are not diabetic. Diet and controlling cholesterol also help some patients.

If you have glomerular disease, you might not show any symptoms until the disease is advanced. One important indicator is proteinuria, which is a large amount of protein in the urine. Because scarring interferes with the kidneys' filtering abilities, protein can leak from the blood into the urine. Proteinuria is usually discovered during routine physical exams. Glomerulosclerosis is diagnosed most often with a kidney biopsy. The best way to treat the condition is to treat its underlying causes.