Morphometric analysis of glomerular and interstitial lesions in idiopathic IgA nephropathy and Schoenlein-Henoch nephritis.

Fifteen renal biopsy specimens from patients with idiopathic diffuse IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and twelve from patients with Schoenlein-Henoch nephritis (SHN) for whom both light and electron microscopy as well as immunofluorescence microscopy and full clinical data were available were examined and compared quantitatively. Morphometric investigations were performed by means of a computer image analysis system to evaluate whether morphometric analysis could confirm morphological similarity between IgAN and SHN as well as to study whether glomerular parameters could correlate with hematuria in these glomerulopathies. The morphometric study did not reveal noticeable differences between groups and the mean values of total glomerular area, total glomerular cells per total glomerular area, total glomerular cells per unit of glomerular area, mesangium (% of total glomerular area) and relative interstitial volume were similar in IgAN and SHN. Moreover, there were significant positive correlations between glomerular mesangium (% of total glomerular area) and hematuria in both IgAN and SHN groups. The correlations between other glomerular parameters and hematuria were weak and did not reach statistical significance.