Membranous nephropathy constitutes 30% of adult nephrotic syndrome. Of all cases of membranous nephropathy, primary membranous nephropathy is commonest. Mercury is known to be a cause of secondary membranous nephropathy. There is no human data on the pathophysiology of mercury-related membranous nephropathy, but animal studies suggested an autoimmune mechanism behind it. There is no data to the best of our knowledge about target antigen for mercury-related membranous nephropathy. We are reporting a case of NELL-1 positive mercury-related membranous nephropathy that started resolving after stopping siddha medication and taking antiproteinuric. There was also concomitant euthyroid lymphocytic thyroiditis with anti-TPO positive, which started after exposure to siddha medication, which suggests systemic autoimmune phenomenon due to mercury exposure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.