IgA Nephropathy: A Common Chronic Kidney (CKD)

IgA Nephropathy is a common Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and it covers the largest population of people with Glomerulonephritis.

Causes
It is an autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system attacks the healthy kidney tissues mistakenly. IgA is a protein called antibody that helps the body to fight infections. However, in some cases, the immune disorder cause too much of this protein to deposit in glomeruli. As a result, the glomeruli become inflamed and damaged. IgA Nephropathy is a form of mesangial proliferative nephritis.

Symptoms
In the early stages, the disease can go unnoticed for decades. If left untreated, it will lead to the following symptoms.
Cola or tea-colored urine: It is caused by the red blood cells loss in urine.
Swelling: It primarily appears around faces, ankle etc and then spread to other body parts.
Foamy urine: It is related to protein loss in urine.
High blood pressure: It is mainly caused by retention of fluid and sodium.
Pain in sides
Lower-grade fever
Prognosis
The prognosis of IgA Nephropathy mainly depends on the amount of protein loss. If uncontrolled, more than 20% of the patients will progress into End Stage Renal Failure. However, in some cases, the condition may go away, either with or without therapy.

Treatments
1. General treatments
☆Controlling blood pressure is very important to delay kidney damage.
Immunosuppressive agents and hormone are usually used to suppress inflammatory reaction and relieve the symptoms.
☆ A low-salt diet and diuretics may help with the swelling in the hands and legs.
☆ Low-protein diets may be helpful in reducing the protein in urine significantly.
2. Our treatment
The latest treatment-immunotherapy is introduced to the treatment of IgA Nephropathy and other immunological kidney disease. It mainly plays the following roles in treating the disease.
☆ It can suppress the inflammation in kidneys thus inhibiting more immune injury to kidneys.
☆ It can regulate autoimmune process and enhance immunity. Experiences have proved that immunotherapy is remarkably effective in treating IgA Nephropathy.

Learn More: Chinese Herbal Medicine for IgA Nephropathy