Animal studies suggest that hyperlipidemia may play a direct role in glomerular damage. In patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), dyslipidemia occurs early in the course of nephropathy and may be involved in the progression of renal disease.
We report on two young NIDDM patients with marked hyperlipidemia and proteinu ria, in whom renal biopsy demonstrated nondiabetic glomerulopathy. In both cases, the decrease in blood lipid levels was associated with a major decrease in proteinuria. Episodes of hyperlipidemia were associated with a resumption of heavy protcinuria in one patient with serum triglyceride levels and proteinuria being closely correlated.
These two cases suggest that hyperlipidemia has an important rolein the pathogenesis of glomerular disease.
