Recent evidence suggests that antibodies reacting with the glomerular basement membrane may produce the glomerulonephritis in Goodpasture's syndrome.1 Attempts to suppress the immune response of patients with this disorder with steroids has not altered the usually rapid progression to renal insufficiency and death.
This report describes the prolonged survival of a 53-year-old woman with Goodpasture's syndrome treated for 30 months with azathioprine following the onset of renal failure. Serial studies indicate arrest of further renal deterioration and the gradual but complete restoration of pulmonary function.
Patient Summary
A 51-year-old white woman was admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital in May 1965 for evaluation of hemoptysis. During an episode of acute bronchitis in November 1964 hemoptysis occurred and persisted intermittently until admission. She had experienced symptoms of bronchospasm following exposure to dust, for several years, 20 years previously. Several members of her family had died of pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient's history