balkan endemic nephropathy

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a non-inflammatory, chronic, slow progressing kidney disease, frequently associated with urinary tract tumors. BEN displays familial clustering without an apparent Mendelian inheritance pattern. It has been suggested that environmental toxicants damage urothelial cells in genetically susceptible individuals, which could be the cause of BEN.

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is prevalent in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania.

Synopsis

 etiological hypothesis

• seeds of Aristolochia clematitis
• ohratoxin-A (OTA)

 tubulointerstitial fibrosis
 increased risk of developing upper urothelial cancer