How many people in the US have IgAN?

How many people in the US have IgAN?

IgAN is considered a rare disease, but it is estimated that about 60,000 in the U.S. have the illness.

Is IgAN a CKD?

IgA nephropathy is a chronic kidney disease. It progresses over 10 to 20 years, and it can lead to end-stage renal disease. It is caused by deposits of the protein immunoglobulin A (IgA) inside the filters (glomeruli) in the kidney.

What causes IgAN?

What causes IgA nephropathy? Scientists think that IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune kidney disease, meaning that the disease is due to the body’s immune system harming the kidneys. People with IgA nephropathy have an increased blood level of IgA that contains less of a special sugar, galactose, than normal.

Can I live a normal life with IgA nephropathy?

Can I lead a normal life with IgA nephropathy? In most cases this condition does not affect normal life. There is no special diet that will make the disease go away or get worse. You can continue with physical exercise and sports quite safely.

Can you reverse IgA nephropathy?

There’s no cure for IgA nephropathy and no sure way of knowing what course your disease will take. Some people need only monitoring to determine whether the disease is getting worse. For others, a number of medications can slow disease progress and help manage symptoms.

Can high cholesterol cause CKD?

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health have found that high levels of triglycerides and low levels of high-density (good) cholesterol in the blood predict the onset of chronic kidney disease.

Why do Igan patients have high IgA antibodies?

Perhaps protracted exposure to antigens — as in a recurrent viral illness, or the multiple illnesses experienced by some IgAN patients — sends the immune system into overdrive. The blood of IgAN patients often shows high concentrations of IgA antibodies to a type of protein found in many bacteria, as well as antibodies to many viruses.

What is the prevalence of Igan in the US?

Others estimate that IgAN is responsible for 10-20% of all end-stage renal disease. These estimates suggest that IgAN may be sending 2,800 to 4,200 Americans into renal failure each year.

What antigen is responsible for triggering Igan?

We do not know what antigen is responsible for triggering IgAN, nor do we know whether IgAN results from defects in the body’s creation or elimination of immune complexes.

Should patients with IgA nephropathy with recurrent Igan have a transplant?

The possibility of recurrent IgAN should not discourage patients from having a transplant, but they should be aware that a transplant is not a cure for the disease, merely a replacement organ. Wyatt RJ, Julian BA. IgA nephropathy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2013;368 (25):2402–2414. IgA nephropathy.