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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Your kidneys are two bean-shaped, fist-sized organs located at the small of your back, one on either side of your spine. Each kidney contains approximately 1 million glomeruli — tiny blood vessels that filter waste and excess water from your blood as it passes through your kidneys. The filtered blood re-enters your bloodstream, while the waste material passes into your bladder and out of your body when you urinate. Every day about 2 quarts of water, along with waste products, leave your body as urine.
Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is an antibody that plays a key role in your immune system by attacking invading pathogens. But in IgA nephropathy, this antibody collects in the glomeruli, affecting their filtering ability.
Researchers don't know exactly what causes IgA deposits in the kidneys, although IgA nephropathy appears to have a genetic component in some people.
IgA nephropathy is also sometimes associated with other conditions, including:
- Cirrhosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces normal tissue within the liver
- Celiac disease, a digestive condition triggered by eating gluten, a protein found in most grains
- Dermatitis herpetiformis, an itchy, blistering skin disease that stems from gluten intolerance
- Infections, including HIV infection and bacterial infections
- Henoch-Schonlein purpura, a condition that results from inflammation of the small blood vessels of the skin, joints, intestine and kidneys
- IgA nephropathy. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/iganephropathy. Accessed Aug. 31, 2008.
- Strippoli GF, et al. Evidence-based survey of therapeutic options for IgA nephropathy: Assessment and criticism. American Journal of Kidney Disease. 2003;41(6):1129-1139.
- Glomerulonephritis. MayoClinic.com. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/glomerulonephritis/DS00503. Accessed Aug. 31, 2008.
- Donadio JV, et al. The long-term outcome of patients with IgA nephropathy treated with fish oil in a controlled trial. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 1999;10(8):1772-1777.
- Donadio JV, et al. IgA nephropathy. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2002;738-748.
- Coppo R, et al. IgACE: A placebo-controlled, randomized trial of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in children and young people with IgA nephropathy and moderate proteinuria. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2007;18(6):1880-1888.
- Barratt J, et al. Causes and diagnosis of IgA nephropathy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed Aug. 31, 2008.
- Cattran DC, et al. Treatment and prognosis of IgA nephropathy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 31, 2008.
- Coppo R, et al. Factors predicting progression of IgA nephropathies. Journal of Nephrology. 2005;18(5):503-512.
- Gharavi AG, et al. IgA nephropathy, the most common cause of glomerulonephritis, is linked to 6q22-23. Nature Genetics. 2000;26:354-357.
