IgA Nephropathy is a kidney disorder caused by immune complexes deposition in
glomeruli. It mainly affects people between 16~35 years old.
Symptoms of IgA Nephropathy
* Gross hematuria: It usually occurs a short time (24~72 hours) later after
upper respiratory infection. Sometimes, the persons are also accompanied by mild
systemic symptoms like muscle pain, painful urination, low fever ad back pain.
The gross hematuria usually occurs frequently and it may convert to microscopic
hematuria after a period.
* Microscopic hematuria with or without asymptomatic proteinuria: It is very
common among children and adults.
* Proteinuria: It is usually mild and the urine protein is less than 1 gram
in 24 hours. However, in a minority of cases, the persons may suffer from
massive proteinuria and even Nephrotic Syndrome.
* Rapidly progressive nephritis syndrome: It is rare. The persons usually
have persistent gross hematuria, massive of proteinuria. The renal function
aggravates in a very short time along with edema and mild or moderate high blood
pressure.
* Others: For the patients with typical clinical symptoms, they often
experience intense pain in back and abdomen along with kidney stone. In this
case, the disease is usually are misdiagnosed as kidney stone, pyelonephritis or
acute gastroenteritis.
Prognosis of IgA Nephropathy
The following factors can influence the prognosis of IgA Nephropathy.
* The prognosis of IgA Nephropathy is poorer in male than female. What’s
more, the earlier the disease starts, the worse its prognosis will be.
* For the persons with frequent gross hematuria, the prognosis is bad.
* If the persons with IgA Nephropathy develop massive proteinuria or
Nephrotic Syndrome, the prognosis is not good.
* If the persons with IgA Nephropathy have a poor control of blood pressure,
the prognosis is bad.
* If the pathological change in IgA Nephropathy such as crescent formation,
interstitial fibrosis etc, the prognosis is bad.
Learn More: An Alternative to Kidney Transplant for IgA Nephropathy