Definition
The medical term for a condition of protein in the urine is “proteinuria.” This is a condition in which there is an excessive amount of protein found in the urine.
Causes
There are a number of medical conditions which can cause proteinuria. One of the most common causes is a kidney ailment. Within the kidneys are tiny filtering systems known as glomerui capillaries. There are thousands of these within the kidneys, and they are responsible for filtering out waste from the blood as it flows through these filters. If they malfunction, they can filter out more than waste, and protein can escape out the waste channels and into the urine.
Another part of the kidney, known as the proximal tubule could also be a cause of excessive urine protein. There are thousands of tiny distal and proximal tubules within kidneys attached to glomerui capillaries. The purpose of these tubes is to filter out protein and other beneficial components of blood which may have gotten through the filter of the glomerui capillaries. Reabsorption is the method these tubes use to properly bring these blood components back into the blood. If these tubules are not functioning properly, protein will not be entering back into the bloodstream, and it will end up in the urine.
Such kidney ailments can have a genetic component, resulting in a hereditary renal disease. Environmental factors can also play a role as well. Exposure to radiation or carcinogens can cause renal cancer, which can result in the glomerui capillaries not functioning properly. Doctors often check for such a condition when noticing abnormalities in the urine with a renal ultrasound and kidney function blood tests. Blood urea nitrogen levels are commonly checked, since high levels of this substance in the blood is a huge symptom that the kidneys are failing.
Diabetic problems are also a major cause of proteinuria. Frequently escalating blood sugar levels can cause severe kidney damage over time, resulting in poor performance by the kidneys for blood filtration.
Image Source: nlm.nih.gov
Symptoms
The most common symptom of proteinuria is the appearance of the urine itself. The urine typically has an excessively foamy appearance with this condition, since the reaction of the protein with other components of the urine produces this foam. This is not always evidence of protein in the urine, however. A large amount of bilirubin can also cause this symptom, and could be a symptom of liver disease.
Treatment
The most common treatment for excessive protein in the urine is an ACE inhibitor medication prescribed by a doctor. An ACE inhibitor is an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor. This basically means that some angiotensin enzymes in the blood which are responsible for tensing up the arteries to increase the blood pressure are converted to other enzymes to lower the blood pressure. A lower blood pressure can allow the damaged kidneys to more effectively filter the blood due to the decreased amount of blood flowing through them at one time. This is often an effective medication for patients with proteinuria, and more severe cases may require dialysis treatment.
