Nephrotic syndrome, sickle-cell disease and pregnancy.

A young West Indian with sickle-cell disease and the nephrotic syndrome in the last trimester of pregnancy was treated after admission to hospital with folic acid and blood transfusion. Labour was induced by intravenous prostaglandin E2 but the fetus died. The nephrotic syndrome resolved but the proteinuria, the cause of which it is suggested is a true sickle-cell nephropathy, persisted.