[Clinical and pathological features of type I and III membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis]

Analysis and comparisons were made between the clinical and pathological data obtained from 42 cases of type I and 17 cases of type III membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). It was shown that type I MPGN differed from type III remarkably in following respects: (1) Nephrosis was a salient feature of type III while hypertension, impairment of renal function and hematuria were more common in type I. (2) Pathological glomerular sclerosis, tubular interstitial changes and crescents formation occurred frequently in type I but not in type III. (3) Long term prognosis for type III was much better than type I. It is concluded the type III MPGN is a distinct clinical entity which differs from the classical type I MPGN in many aspects.