Vol. 9, No 1, 2002 pp. 15 - 25
UC 616.61-004 

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BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY IN ROMANIA
Gheorghe Gluhovschi¹, Florin Margineanu², Virginia Trandafirescu¹, Adalbert Schiller¹, Ligia Petrica¹,
Silvia Velciov¹, Gheorghe Bozdog¹, Cristina Gluhovschi¹, Flaviu Bob^1
1University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Department of Nephrology, County Hospital, Timisoara, Romania,
²County Hospital, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania

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Summary. Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN) is a disease  with many similar epidemiological aspects in the countries in which it occurs. In spite of this, there are some particular aspects which have to be mentioned concerning this disease in Romania. BEN has a familial character; it is described in foci that consist of several families; sometimes families affected by the disease are found in the same village as families that are unaffected by BEN; also endemic villages may be encountered near unaffected villages.
The clinico-biological picture of the disease is that of a tubulo-interstitial nephropathy. The etiology of BEN is unknown. Several factors are considered to be instrumental in the development of the disease: viral infections and mycotoxins.
Key words: Balkan endemic nephropathy, epidemiology, etiology, kidney morphology, diagnosis, treatment

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