In general, managing IgA Nephropathy may include:
Lifestyle changes
to keep you healthy overall and lower blood pressure and stress on the kidneys
Medications
to lower blood pressure and/or protein in the urine and manage any issues that can develop from worsening kidney disease (for example, anemia, fluid buildup)
At later stages of kidney disease, you may need to consider dialysis or getting a new kidney.
Your treatment plan should be tailored to you and will depend on a number of factors. For example:
- Your current stage of kidney disease or how much kidney damage you have –you and your care team will keep a close eye on how much blood or protein is in your urine, your GFR, and/or kidney biopsy result, which will help guide treatment decisions
- Other treatments you’ve tried before
- Any related health issues, including anemia or excess fluid (edema)
- Other health conditions you have, such as diabetes or high cholesterol
- Your personal goals and preferences – be open about what’s most important to you in managing your IgA Nephropathy, and don’t be shy about asking questions
Even if you are feeling well, it’s important to keep up with a healthy lifestyle and take your medications as prescribed. IgA Nephropathy is a lifelong condition that needs to be closely followed and managed.
Medications
Most people living with kidney disease are prescribed an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i). These medications help lower blood pressure and reduce protein in the urine—both of which are important for protecting kidney function. In many cases, managing kidney disease involves taking more than one medication.
For some adults with higher levels of protein in the urine and a greater risk of disease progression, there are now treatments specifically developed for IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Each works in a different way. Some target the gut to reduce the production of IgA, while others help protect the kidney’s filtering units by lowering pressure within them. There are also treatments that reduce inflammation inside the kidney or decrease the amount of harmful IgA being produced.
Each of these approaches plays a unique role, and doctors choose the most appropriate option based on lab results, symptoms, medical history, and individual patient goals.
These are the treatments currently approved by the U.S. FDA for IgAN, listed in the order they were approved. Each medicine helps at a different point in the IgAN disease process.
Each treatment helps in a different way. Doctors choose based on lab results, symptoms, medical history, and patient goals.
Thank You To Our 2026 IgAN Patient Empowerment Program Sponsors
