Due to inducing factors, renal intrinsic cells are damaged and release series of inflammatory media. Some inflammatory reactions appear and cell viability increases. This initial stage is inflammation reaction stage.
With worse damage, the phenotype of renal intrinsic cells changes, and the cell induration appears. At the same time, the renal functions begins to break down.
The period with the damage ratio of renal functions below 50%, which means that the total amount of indurated cells is less than half , is called the early stage of renal fibrosis.
In this stage, owing to the great compensation of kidneys, there are no clinical indication changes. The indexes of creatinine(High Creatinine Levels) and urea nitrogen are within normal scope, but at the moment the renal fibrosis has nearly worsened into middle stage.
With the worsening renal fibrosis, the indurated cells forfeiting normal functions increase gradually, and the normal nephrons are less and less. When the amount of normal nephrons also called the left nephrons is less than 20%, the middle stage begins to develop into renal failure with the early symptoms like acidosis of uremia, which is named as matrix composing stage of renal fibrosis.
When there are more than 90% fibrillated renal cells, namely normal renal cells less than 10%, patients suffer from severe metabolic acidosis and other serious symptoms of heart and brain. This period is end stage renal failure (ESRF), namely Uremia.
Renal fibrosis enters into later matrix synthesis phase. In this stage, the left nephrons turn into indurating stage. Renal cells are indurated, which is called as autonomous matrix synthesis phase. The process of this stage depends on no other external factors, is just self-generation and self-proliferation.
We can conclude from the above that if chronic nephritis is not treated timely and properly, chronic nephritis can lead to renal fibrosis. And if the renal fibrosis can be blocked, it can induce Renal Failure gradually, and even Uremia. Therefore, Uremia is the final stage of renal fibrosis. Whether the precaution or treatment of Uremia, we should start from blocking the process of renal fibrosis.
