Definition of nephritis

Definition of nephritis

Nephritis is the inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. The most common form, glomerulonephritis, affects children and teenagers far more than adults. It is inflammation of the glomeruli which is small round filter located in the kidney. Pyelonephritis affects adults more than children, and is recognized as inflammation of the kidney and upper urinary tract. A third type of nephritis is hereditary nephritis, a rare inherited condition.

Common nephritis types

● Acute nephritis

● Chronic nephritis

● Glomerulonephritis

● Primary glomerulonephritis

● Autoimmune nephritis

● Lupus nephritis

● Pyelonephritis

● Interstitial nephritis

Causes of Nephritis

There are a couple of factors that could cause a person to suffer from the inflammation of this kind, the most common one being an autoimmune disorder, affecting the major organs of the body. Infections also could cause a person to suffer from interstitial nephritis.

● Autoimmune Disorders

Under normal circumstances, your immune system plays the important role of identifying the different parts of your body and distinguishing them from any invaders that may try to enter. Your immune system also then tries to attack the invaders, so that the body can get rid of them. However, some factors can cause your immune system to attack normal parts of the body, instead of the invaders. There are several organs in the human body that can be affected by such autoimmune disorders, the kidney being one of them. There are numerous kidney diseases that can occur as a result of immune system problems and nephritis is one of them.

● Bacteria

One of the most common causes of infections and inflammation in children as well as adults is the streptococcus bacteria

Medication: It has been seen that those who have been taking certain medication for a long period of time may be more prone to nephritis, as compared to the others. The use of specific medicines is one of the causes of nephritis in older people.

● Heredity Factors

Nephritis disease has been known to run in the members of a family. Therefore, you are at a much higher risk of developing this condition, if any of your parents or siblings has been diagnosed with it, at some point.