Inheritance of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

The inheritance of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome of childhood was studied in 51 families. The estimate of recurrence risk for sibs of affected patients was .06 as compared to the incidence in the state of Indiana of 6.9 X 10(-5). A polygenic inheritance was most consistent with the data although several genetic models were considered. There were no significant histologic or clinical differences between patients with affected sibs and simplex patients.