Minimal-change disease in adolescents and adults: epidemiology and therapeutic response

Epidemiology of minimal-change disease (MCD) in adults differs from that in children and is not studied well in Indian population.

We retrospectively studied the records of 61 adult patients with MCD to assess clinical, laboratory and histopathological features, and to evaluate the response to treatment, course and complications of the disease and therapy.

The male to female ratio was 1.17:1. Mean age was 30.46 years. Of the total, 6.55% had hypertension; 13.11% had microhaematuria. After initial treatment with steroids, 68.85% had complete remission (CR) and 13.1% had partial remission (PR). Twelve of 14 (85.71%) steroid-resistant cases had CR or PR after alternative immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide, or mycophenolate mofetil. Of all patients, 44.2% had at least one relapse; 8.19% were frequently relapsing and 26.22% were steroid dependent. After a mean follow-up of 149.9 weeks, 38 (61.29%) patients were in CR and 16 (26.22%) in PR with a mean proteinuria of 1.28 g/day, 3 being treated for relapse. Mean serum creatinine was 89.28 μmol/L (1.01 mg/dL). Fourteen (22.95%) had acute kidney injury (AKI). All but two recovered completely.

This single-centre study with a medium-term follow-up shows that majority of patients respond to steroids or alternative immunosuppressants. AKI is common and may not be completely reversible in some cases.