Glomerular morphometry I: nephrotic syndrome in childhood.

Glomerular morphometry was performed on needle biopsy specimens from 53 children with the nephrotic syndrome with minimal change (MC), focal global glomerulosclerosis (FGS) and segmental glomerulosclerosis (SGS). There were significantly fewer epithelial cells and more mesangial cells in SGS compared with MC and FGS. The number of epithelial cells decreased with age in MC and FGS, but was constantly low at all ages in SGS. There were no significant differences in differential cellularity between MC, with or without focal glomerular obsolescence or focal tubular atrophy, and FGS. Glomerular diameter increased with age in MC and FGS, but not in SGS. These findings support the view that SGS is a distinct entity rather than a variant of MC.