• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • IgAN Care
  • About Us
        • MM About

          • About Us
          • Leadership Team
          • Board of Directors
          • Medical & Scientific Advisory Board
        • MM About 2

          • Articles
          • Sponsors
          • Our Partners
  • Resources
        • MM – Resource 1

          • What is IgAN
          • Diagnosis
          • Understanding Your Lab Results
          • Understanding Your Biopsy
        • MM – Resource 2

          • IgAN Info
          • Faces of IgAN
          • IgAN Risk Quiz
          • American Asian Info
          • FAQ
          • IgAN Cookbook
        • MM – Resource 3

          • Support Options
          • Apply for Patient Aid
          • Patient Support
        • MM – Resource 4

          • Learning & Resources
          • Webinars
          • Guides & Fact Sheets
          • Nutrition & Recipes
          • Mental Health
          • Learn About Insurance
          • Podcasts
          • Treatment Options
  • Research
        • MM Research

          • IgA Nephropathy Studies
          • IgA Nephropathy Research
        • Clinical Trials

          • Clinical Trials
  • Join
        • MM – Join 1

          • Events
          • Calendar of Events
          • IgA Nephropathy Day
          • Rare Disease Day
        • MM – Join 2

          • Become a Member
          • Ambassador Program
          • Ways to Give
  • For Health
    Care Professionals
    Hidden for now, remove the “hide” class when available.
  • Donate
  • IgAN Care

Treatment Options

There are now more treatments for IgA Nephropathy than ever before with many more expected to be approved in the coming years. Make sure to talk with your nephrology care team about what treatments are right for you and your goals for treatment. Remember that you are the center of your care team.

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) 

Clinical Trials

to find new treatments specifically for IgAN that target the source of the disease and prevent kidney damage

Learn More

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 with kidney disease are started on an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), which help lower blood pressure and protein in the urine. But it’s common to take multiple medications.

For some adults with high levels of protein in the urine whose disease is likely to get worse quickly, there are now medications specifically for IgAN that help to lower the amount of protein in the urine.

TARPEYO (budesonide delayed release capsules) and FILSPARI (sparsentan) were recently approved and are both taken once-daily by mouth. Ask your doctor if one could be right for you and be sure to follow the patient medication guide on the product insert or website.

Learn More
Learn More
Donate
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Patient Resources
  • Research
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Efforts

Contact Us

(848) 298-4618

(732) 681-3462

PO Box 1322 Wall, NJ 07727

© 2023 All Rights Reserved.

May 14, Sunday: Mother’s Day & IgA Nephropathy Awareness Day

The IgAN Foundation was sparked by a mother’s love and has grown into a community sharing crucial resources and working toward a cure. This day kicks off a week of celebrating the IGA Nephropathy family all week!

May 15, Monday: Mindfulness

IgA Nephropathy can be challenging and mindfulness is an important part of caring for yourself. Take a moment today and implement a mindfulness practice, meditate, or take a few moments in reflection to check in with yourself.

May 16, Tuesday: Share Your Story

On this day, the Foundation will share the video with Warrior stories compiled (submit yours here if you haven’t yet). We encourage you to also share your own photos and videos from moments along your journey!

May 17, Wednesday: Wellness

What are you doing to feel well today? IgA Nephropathy can sometimes make life feel uncontrollable, but there are some things we can control, for example:

  • Enjoyable movement (a stretch, a walk, dancing to a favorite song)
  • Eating food that’s right for us individually
  • Checking in with ourselves
  • Meditating

May 18, Thursday: Thank those who care

Between care teams, care partners, and medical providers, a lot goes into the care that sustains us as we live with IgA Nephropathy. Take this opportunity to express your appreciation to them!

May 19, Saturday: Rally cry

When the IgA Nephropathy Foundation was created, there were no resources to treat IgA Nephropathy. Now, there are 2 approved FDA treatments and many clinical trials in the works. Our community is strong and full of hope— here’s to even more progress in the future!

May 20, Saturday: Celebration! 

We’ll be hosting an in-person celebration (details to come). We’ll miss you if you can’t make it, but please take the time to celebrate however works for you — wearing your IgAN Foundation sunglasses, spending time with loved ones, etc. — just be sure to share a photo and tag us!

References

  • Hall, Y.N., Fuentes, E.F., Chertow, G.M. et al. Race/ethnicity and disease severity in IgA nephropathy. BMC Nephrol 5, 10 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2369-5-10
  • Kiryluk K, Li Y, Sanna-Cherchi S, Rohanizadegan M, Suzuki H, et al. (2012) Geographic Differences in Genetic Susceptibility to IgA Nephropathy: GWAS Replication Study and Geospatial Risk Analysis. PLoS Genet 8(6): e1002765. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002765