[Drug-induced nephropathies]

Drug-induced nephropathies are frequent. Glomeruli, tubes, interstitium and arterioles may be altered. In this paper, we have tried to know if clinical, biological or histological signs of drug-induced nephropathies are similar or different from those observed in idiopathic nephropathies. We demonstrate that drug-induced nephropathies do not present any particular clinical or biological signs. We find that minimal changes and membranous glomerulopathies are the main lesions observed. In contrast, glomerular proliferations are very rare. Drug-induced tubulopathies are characterized by tubular necrosis with variable extension. Interstitial lesions are absolutely identical to those observed in immunologically mediated nephropathies. Vascular lesions are very rare. It should be noticed that evolution of drug-induced nephropathies differs completely from idiopathic nephropathies. Indeed, renal lesions are usually regressive when the drug administration is stopped. In conclusion, it appears that drug-induced nephropathies mimic other forms of nephropathies. It is important to know that some drugs are excellent experimental models to reproduce some aspects of human renal pathologies.