Danubian endemic familial nephropathy

The Balkan nephropathy, also Danubian endemic familial nephropathy ( DEFN ), a form of interstitial nephritis is a kidney disorder that is chronic and eventually lead to a fatal renal failure. The otherwise usually associated with renal disease, hypertension missing here first. The disease is endemic ( exclusively ) in some rural regions of the Danube valley and its tributary valleys in the Balkans, in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia.

The cause of the first time mid-1950s and 1956 described in the ICD formally recognized disease for decades was unclear despite intensive investigations. It was suspected, among other mold toxins (mycotoxins ), herbal medicines folk medicine ( phytotoxins ), heavy metals, viruses, or lack of trace elements.

Mid-2007 were published research findings of a team of U.S. Stony Brook University, came the main cause on the track. The reason therefore is primarily a poisoning by several years of consumption of bread, its flour was milled from wheat contaminated with aristolochic the region. The contamination of the crop comes from seeds of the ordinary Aristolochia ( Aristolochia clematitis, also known as beaver herb) ago, a not rare in this region weed. The relatively poor farmers in this region were the weeds in the corn fields have not decimate, since they can not afford expensive herbicides. A serious risk of the occurrence of nephropathy consists of around 100,000 people affected Balkan region.

With the Balkan nephropathy is frequently associated also an otherwise rare cancer of the upper urinary tract Urothelgewebes. Metabolites of beaver herb bind to the DNA and trigger mutations among others at tumor suppressor p53, so that its function in the human tumor protection system is impaired.