IDIOPATHIC MEMBRANOUS GLOMERULONEPHRITIS WITH CRESCENTS

Three cases with idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis associated with crescent formation are reported. A 39-year-old woman showed rapidly progressive decline in renal function. Her renal histology disclosed early membranous changes with diffuse crescent formation. Another patient, a 37-year-old woman with nephrotic syndrome, underwent a renal biopsy which revealed fully developed membranous glomerulonephritis with focal crescents. The proteinuria of the third patient, a 63-year-old woman, was closely examined, and her renal biopsy showed membranous glomerulonephritis with focal crescents. The renal function in the second and third cases has been stable. Circulating anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies were not detected in any of the cases. It is possible that idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis evolves into crescentic glomerulonephritis by means of immune complexes without mediation of anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies.