[Nephropathy and nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver (author's transl)]

A renal biopsy performed on a young woman with proteinuria showed a nephropathy consisting of major interstitial infiltration by lipophages and thickening of the glomerular capillary walls with a large amount of "spikes". Anti-IgG, IgM, C3 and C1q sera bound themselves to the extramembranous deposits and the anti-IgM serum to the endomembranous deposits. This striking finding was associated with a regenerative nodular hyperplasia of the liver, an entity that has been observed in only about 20 cases. An underlying immunological defect was suggested by the continuous presence of a mixed cryoglobulinemia.