Idiopathic nodular glomerulosclerosis: A case report and literature review

This paper reports a 49-year-old male patient with a long-term smoking history who developed renal insufficiency and proteinuria in the range of nephropathy without diabetes. Renal biopsy showed nodular glomerulosclerosis with vitreous degeneration of arterioles and moderate and severe proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells and matrix. The patient was diagnosed with idiopathic nodular glomerulosclerosis. After treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) drugs, the level of albuminuria decreased rapidly, and renal function remained stable. The clinical manifestations and pathological features of 122 cases of idiopathic nodular glomerulosclerosis reported from 1999 to August 2023 were analyzed, retrospectively.