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@jlferro1 thank you for sharing. I want to learn as much about this topic as possible. My brother actually didn’t know he had any issues with his kidneys until he went for a routine check up and they found the high protein levels and blood in his urine. He was treated for a UTI infection and the blood resolved but the protein didn’t. The only complaint he had was severe pain in his groin and he was thinking he had injured himself. Don’t know if this had anything to do with what’s happening with his kidneys but this was his only complaint. After further research and talking to my brother he said if he was correct IgA Nephropathy is what the doctors told him he has. And this fits with everything I’ve read. European descent. Hereditary- our great grandfather ( in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s ) died with what they called kidney disease that’s all we know. He was exposed to dangerous solvents for YEARS at his job. Now I don’t know if any of these things have anything to do with his condition but it’s what I’ve read during my investigations.
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Overview
IgA nephropathy (nuh-FROP-uh-thee), also known as Berger disease, is a kidney disease. It happens when a germ-fighting protein called immunoglobulin A (IgA) builds up in the kidneys. This causes a type of swelling called inflammation that, over time, can make it harder for the kidneys to filter waste from the blood.
IgA nephropathy often becomes worse slowly over years. But the course of the disease varies from person to person. Some people leak blood into their urine without having other problems. Others might have complications such as losing kidney function and spilling protein into the urine. Still others develop kidney failure, which means the kidneys stop working well enough to filter the body's waste on their own.
There's no cure for IgA nephropathy, but medicines can slow how quickly it becomes worse. Some people need treatment to lower inflammation, reduce the spilling of protein into the urine and prevent the kidneys from failing. Such treatments may help the disease become not active, a state called remission. Keeping blood pressure under control and lowering cholesterol also slow the disease.
Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is a type of protein called an antibody. The immune system makes IgA to help attack germs and fight infections. But with IgA nephropathy, this protein collects in the glomeruli. This causes inflammation and affects their filtering ability over time.
Researchers don't know exactly what causes IgA to build up in the kidneys. But the following things might be linked with it:
Genes. IgA nephropathy is more common in some families and in certain ethnic groups, such as people of Asian and European descent.
Liver diseases. These include scarring of the liver called cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis B and C infections.
Celiac disease. Eating gluten, a protein found in most grains, triggers this digestive condition.
Infections. These include HIV and some bacterial infections.
Risk factors
The exact cause of IgA nephropathy is unknown. But these factors might raise the risk of getting it:
Sex. In North America and Western Europe, IgA nephropathy affects at least twice as many men as it does women.
Ethnicity. IgA nephropathy is more common in white people and people of Asian descent than it is in Black people.
Age. IgA nephropathy most often develops between the mid-teens and mid-30s.
Family history. IgA nephropathy appears to run in some families.
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