Treatment

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.

Medications to treat IgA nephropathy include:

• High blood pressure medications. Taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) can lower your blood pressure and reduce protein loss.
• Omega-3 fatty acids. These fats, available in dietary fish oil supplements, might reduce inflammation in the glomeruli without harmful side effects. Talk to your doctor before you start supplements.
• Immunosuppressants. In some cases, corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone, and other potent drugs that suppress the immune response (immunosuppressants) might keep your immune system from attacking your glomeruli. These drugs can cause serious side effects, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar and increased risk of infection.
• Statin therapy. If you have high cholesterol, cholesterol-lowering medications can help control it and slow the progression of kidney damage.
• Diuretics. These help remove extra fluid from your blood. Removing extra fluid can help improve blood pressure control.

The ultimate goal is to avoid the need for kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation. But in some cases, dialysis or transplantation is necessary.