thin wall basement disease

What is thin wall basement disease? I have SLE and spill blood,albumin, and protien in urine. Have now since 1993. Is this something I should be following or do they follow it just with bun/cr.?
Cindy

[DrKalraMD]

Hi, Thin basement membrane disease (TBMD, also known as benign familial hematuria and thin basement membrane nephropathy) is, along with IgA nephropathy, the most common cause of asymptomatic hematuria. The only abnormal finding in this disease is a thinning of the basement membrane of the glomeruli in the kidneys. Its importance lies in the fact that it has a benign prognosis, with patients maintaining a normal kidney function throughout their lives.

Overall, most people with thin basement membrane disease have an excellent prognosis. Some reports, however, suggest that a minority might develop hypertension. The high incidence of thin basement disease also means that it may be co-existing with other kidney diseases, such as diabetic nephropathy, which may have a not-so-benign prognosis.

Taken from website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_GBM_disease

In women, Alport syndrome disorder is usually mild, with minimal or no symptoms. In men, the symptoms are more severe and get worse faster.

For more information visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/000504.htm