Does stage 2 IgA nephropathy require treatment?

Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
Updated on January 17, 2025
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IgA nephropathy can be divided into five stages, where stages one to two are relatively mild, early stages, and generally have a good prognosis. For patients with stage two IgA nephropathy, it is rare for the condition to progress to uremia, but whether treatment is needed largely depends on the clinical manifestations of the IgA nephropathy. If a patient with IgA nephropathy has a 24-hour urinary protein quantification greater than 0.5g, it is advisable to use an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor antagonist to protect kidney function and reduce urinary protein. If a stage two IgA nephropathy patient only shows microscopic hematuria, drug treatment is not necessary. However, routine urinalysis and kidney function monitoring should be conducted in daily life, and if an infection occurs, timely anti-infection treatment should be administered. If a stage two IgA nephropathy patient has significant proteinuria, steroid treatment is often required. (Medication should be taken under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
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Does stage 2 IgA nephropathy require treatment?

IgA nephropathy can be divided into five stages, where stages one to two are relatively mild, early stages, and generally have a good prognosis. For patients with stage two IgA nephropathy, it is rare for the condition to progress to uremia, but whether treatment is needed largely depends on the clinical manifestations of the IgA nephropathy. If a patient with IgA nephropathy has a 24-hour urinary protein quantification greater than 0.5g, it is advisable to use an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor antagonist to protect kidney function and reduce urinary protein. If a stage two IgA nephropathy patient only shows microscopic hematuria, drug treatment is not necessary. However, routine urinalysis and kidney function monitoring should be conducted in daily life, and if an infection occurs, timely anti-infection treatment should be administered. If a stage two IgA nephropathy patient has significant proteinuria, steroid treatment is often required. (Medication should be taken under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
1min 25sec home-news-image

How to control IgA nephropathy?

IgA nephropathy is a very common type of glomerular disease in clinical practice and is also a major cause of uremia. Therefore, sufficient attention should be given to IgA nephropathy by patients, and active treatment is required. The treatment of IgA nephropathy usually depends on the clinical manifestations and pathological types of the patient, meaning that the treatment approaches for patients with different clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy are not exactly the same. For patients who frequently experience gross hematuria, if it is related to tonsil infection, it is recommended that the patient undergo tonsillectomy. For patients with IgA nephropathy who only have microscopic hematuria, there is generally no need for special medication treatment. However, in daily life, regular monitoring of routine urine tests, kidney function, and blood pressure is necessary, and the use of drugs that are toxic to the kidneys should be avoided. For patients with IgA nephropathy who also have significant proteinuria, even nephrotic syndrome, treatment often requires the use of steroids, and even immunosuppressants. For patients with mild to moderate proteinuria, it is recommended to use angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. Only in this way can the condition of IgA nephropathy be controlled.

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Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
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Is IgA nephropathy sexually transmitted?

IgA nephropathy, a type of chronic glomerulonephritis, does not transmit through sexual intercourse. This condition involves a sterile inflammatory response within the glomeruli of the kidneys, not caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Instead, it results from an immune dysfunction, causing inflammation in the glomeruli without any infectious agents. Therefore, IgA nephropathy is not contagious, and sexual intercourse does not pose a risk of transmitting the condition to a sexual partner. As such, patients with IgA nephropathy can engage in sexual activities if their physical condition permits.

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Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
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Causes of hematuria in IgA nephropathy

IGA nephropathy is a type of chronic glomerulonephritis. This disease often causes patients to have blood in their urine, and can also lead to visible blood in the urine. The glomerulus is a cluster of capillaries with semi-permeable functions, allowing water and metabolic waste to pass through while preventing proteins and red blood cells from passing. The waste and water pass through the glomerular filtration barrier and enter into the urine, which is the main component of urine. If some pathological cause damages the capillaries of the glomerulus, such as in the case of IGA nephropathy where there is an inflammatory response within the glomerulus, it can damage the glomerular filtration barrier. As a result, red blood cells may pass through the capillary walls of the glomerulus into the urine, causing blood in the urine.

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Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
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Can IgA nephropathy stage 2 be cured?

IgA nephropathy is an immunopathological diagnostic term for chronic glomerulonephritis, indicating that the patient has chronic nephritis. In fact, chronic nephritis does not have a concept of complete cure. Stage two patients indicate that the inflammatory reaction within the glomerulus is not very severe, but the patient may also show more proteinuria. In most cases, the renal function of these patients is still normal, and it may be necessary to decide whether to choose medications such as corticosteroids based on the amount of proteinuria. If the patient responds well to medication, the proteinuria may significantly decrease, or even turn negative, but it cannot be completely cured, as this is a chronic disease, and there is also a possibility of relapse in the later stages of the disease. (Please follow the doctor's orders regarding medication use.)