IgA Nephropathy- Berger's Disease
IgA nephropathy, also known as Berger's Disease, is an autoimmune disease. It occurs when the antibody immunoglobin A builds up inside the glomerulus, the part of the nephron that does most of the blood filtration. The glomerulus becomes inflamed due to this immune response, interfering with its function of blood filtration. Eventually, the nephron shuts down, and as immunoglobin A spreads to other nephrons, widespread nephron shut down results in kidney failure.
In layman's terms, IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune disease that is most likely a congenital disease and progresses very slowly in the early decades of one's life. The disease shows more perceptible symptoms in late teen age and severe symptoms in thirties. The most common symptoms are high blood pressure, traces of blood and protein in urine, severe headaches that could be misdiagnosed as migraine.
If IgA nephropathy remains untreated, it can lead to CKD (chronic kidney disease) and eventually to kidney failure.
At this point there is no cure for this disease. But with advancement of medicine, it can be controlled and medications can impede the progression of this disease.