Capillary Rarefaction Associates with Albuminuria: The Maastricht Study

Albuminuria may be a biomarker of generalized ( i.e. , microvascular and macrovascular) endothelial dysfunction. According to this concept, endothelial dysfunction of the renal microcirculation causes albuminuria by increasing glomerular capillary wall permeability and intraglomerular pressure, the latter eventually leading to glomerular capillary dropout (rarefaction) and further increases in intraglomerular pressure. However, direct evidence...