[A case of renovascular hypertension with nephrotic syndrome]

A 68-year-old male patient with renovascular hypertension (RVHT) and nephrotic syndrome (NS) is described. He was admitted to our hospital for detailed investigation of severe hypertension and massive proteinuria. After admission, a diagnosis of RVHT with a right non-functional kidney and NS was made. Nephrectomy and contralateral renal biopsy were performed for refractory hypertension and detailed investigation of the NS, respectively. The renal biopsy showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FGS) in the left kidney, whereas the nephrectomised kidney exhibited only ischemic change. After the operation, his blood pressure became stable without anti-hypertensive agents, but proteinuria remained in the nephrotic range. Six months later, proteinuria had disappeared and his renal function was stable. These findings suggest that NS and FGS might have resulted from an activated renin-angiotensin-axis and that the prolonged NS was due to severe glomerular injury. Although there have been many reports describing the relationship between RVHT and FGS in an experimental environment, this relationship is very rare in clinical cases. Therefore we present this case to increase understanding of the cause of FGS.