The kidneys are the main organs of the urinary system. Its primary function is to filter the blood for waste products and excrete it out of the body through the urine. Another of its function is on the the regulation of blood pressure through maintaining rennin-angiotensin balance and helps in the formation of Red Blood Cells (RBC) through the process called erythropoiesis. Each kidney is composed of about 1 million glomeruli. The glomeruli or glomerulus (glom-little ball) is a cluster of capillaries within a renal corpuscle, this is where the blood filtration occurs in the kidney.
Acute Glomerulonephritis; glorulo-glomeruli, nephro-kidney, -itis-inflammation; is the sudden onset of inflammation of the glomeruli from infections originating from different parts of the body. The immune response causes inflammation of the glomeruli. Scarring on kidney tissues then occurs, leading to the decrease in ability of the kidney to filter the blood and produce urine.
Aside from the urinary problem that a person could experience, he/she is also at high risk of having more serious complications like hypertension and anemia. This is because the kidney has a special affiliation with the rennin-angiotensin balance which is the root-cause of having elevated blood pressure. In any case the kidney is severely damaged, hypertension is most likely to develop. Also, since the kidney aids in the formation of Red Blood Cells, its decrease functioning leads to decrease activity, thus, affecting erythropoiesis. This condition now leads to easy fatigability due to decrease number of circulating RBCs and haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying component of the blood which transports necessary oxygen to the different parts of the body.
AGN mostly affects boys aged 5-9. The United States has recorded 0.02% of their total population, or 61,422 incidence within a year. That makes 1:4,428 people in the US is affected or had suffered from AGN.
It is generally accepted that the most common cause of AGN is an infection that is brought by group-A haemolytic streptococcus. This are infections that commonly misinterpreted as common sore throat and left unattended.
