IgA Nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease, is an autoimmune disease.
IgA is a protein that helps the body fight infections. IgA Nephropathy occurs
when too much of this protein become lodged in the kidneys. It builds up inside
the small blood vessels of the kidney. Structures in the kidney called glomeruli
become inflamed. What signs and symptoms will present on patients?
IgA Nephropathy can develop at any age. Children who suffer from this illness
have a 5 to 10 percent chance of progress to total Renal Failure. There are no
symptoms in the early stages, and the disease may remain silent for years or
even decades.
Hematuria (blood in the urine)
This is often the first sign of IgAN. Depending on how much blood is being
released into the urine, hematuria may present with two presentations.
* Macroscopic hematuria, or gross hematuria. This can be seen as dark, tea or
cola-coloured urine which appears in the midst or shortly after an upper
respiratory infection (like a cold or flu). Many patients have recurring of
macro-hematuria every time they get an infection of the upper respiratory
tract.
* Microscopic hematuria, or micro-hematuria. The blood in the urine is not
visible to the naked eye, and this is usually detected during a routine medical
examination. This is one of the main features and majority of patients always
present this symptom.
Proteinuria (protein in the urine)
As the glomeruli become inflamed or damaged, they begin to allow protein to
pass through into the urine. It may vary from very mild to heavy. A very foamy
urine is usually the clue of presence of protein in urine.
Nephrotic Syndrome
When the loss of protein is more than 3.5g/d, patients will begin to show NS
symptoms including swelling, or edema, low blood protein levels, high
cholesterol, excessive fatigue, low appetite, abdominal pain, etc.
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
With the progress of IgA Nephropathy, patients usually present elevated blood
pressure. This will greatly increase your risk of developing to ESRD, so you
need to treat hypertension by whatever means.