Clinical Correlates of the Kimmelstiel–Wilson Lesion

Abstract

THE clinical and pathological features of intercapillary glomerulosclerosis have received considerable attention since this entity was described in 1936 by Kimmelstiel and Wilson.¹ Numerous reports attest to the occurrence of profuse albuminuria, hypoalbuminemia and edema, usually in association with hypertension and a distinctive retinopathy, in diabetic patients in whom glomerulosclerosis is demonstrated at autopsy.^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10} Many features of the disease, however, remain unclear. There is disagreement about the relative frequency or importance of associated conditions such as pyelonephritis and congestive heart failure. It is held, on the one hand, that the disease has a predilection for elderly women with mild diabetes . . .