Renal lesions in the obliterative cardiomyopathies: endomyocardial fibrosis and Loffler's endocarditis

Abstract

Electron and, or light microscopic examination of paraffin embedded renal tissue obtained from necropsies on eleven patients with obliterative cardiomyopathy showed a variety of abnormalities. Glomerular lesions present in patients with endomyocardial fibrosis included capillary wall thickening, basement membrane duplication, mesangial expansion and interposition, intraluminal fibrin and dense subendothelial deposits. These changes, some of which have been reported earlier in patients with Loffler's endocarditis, probably result from deposition and organisation of immune complexes.