Anti-GBM Disease (Goodpasture Disease): Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
داء غودباستر (مرض الأجسام المضادة للغشاء القاعدي الكبيبي)
Anti-glomerular basement membrane disease, also called Goodpasture disease, is a rare immune disorder that can cause rapidly progressive kidney inflammation and lung bleeding, requiring urgent treatment.
What is Anti-GBM Disease (Goodpasture Disease)?
The kidneys may be affected alone or together with the lungs. Not every pulmonary–renal syndrome is anti-GBM disease; tests and sometimes biopsy distinguish the causes.
Related reading: Microscopic polyangiitis and kidney–lung involvement.
Symptoms
Fatigue, pallor and nausea may precede bloody or foamy urine, swelling or reduced urine output. Breathlessness and coughing blood may indicate pulmonary bleeding.
Causes
Antibodies attack part of the basement membrane in kidneys and lungs. Genetic susceptibility may interact with smoking, environmental exposures or infection; an individual trigger is not always identifiable.
Risk factors
Different ages can be affected. Immune susceptibility, smoking and solvent exposure are associated factors, but they do not establish causation in an individual or imply person-to-person transmission.
Diagnosis
Testing includes kidney function, urinalysis, specific antibodies and chest imaging, often with kidney biopsy. Clinicians also assess possible overlap with other forms of vasculitis.
Treatment
Specialist care uses plasma exchange and immune-suppressing treatment such as corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide when appropriate. Respiratory support or dialysis may be necessary; treatment duration is individualized.
Complications
Permanent kidney damage may require dialysis or transplantation, while pulmonary bleeding can cause respiratory failure. Renal recovery depends partly on damage before treatment and cannot be guaranteed.
Prevention
Established prevention is unavailable, but avoiding smoking and solvent fumes protects the lungs. After treatment, follow kidney-function, antibody and medicine-safety monitoring as advised.
When to see a doctor
Coughing blood, breathing difficulty or rapid deterioration requires emergency care. Bloody urine or reduced urine with swelling needs urgent review; do not wait for kidney pain.