[Comparative histometrical studies in minimal proliferative intercapillary glomerulonephritis with (minimal changes) and without nephrotic syndrome (author's transl)].

Minimal changes in the glomerular structure and definitively provable only by the aid of morphometric methods. This is of value especially for the minimal proliferative intercapillary glomerulonephritis with and without nephrotic syndrome where, because of the different clinical symptomatology, changes in the morphology may be expected too which however, usually are not recognizable with the methods of light-microscopy. That is why morphometric analyses of kidney tissues of ever ten patients of both groups of the disease were made and the results compared with each after and against normal kidneys. It could be shown that the minimal proliferative intercapillary glomerulonephritis with nephrotic syndrome (minimal changes, lipoid-nephrosis) is accompanied by an increase of local cells, especially the mesangial cells, just as the same disease without nephrotic syndrome. Besides that there exists a clear increase of the mesangiummatrix in the minimal proliferative intercapillary glomerulonephritis without nephrotic syndrome. Because of the morphometric findings it is justified to make a demarcation of both groups of the disease as well as against the mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis.