Nephrotic syndrome is a group of symptoms that can happen when kidney filters leak lots of protein into urine.

In adults, this can be due to many different types of GN. Adults will usually need a kidney biopsy to find out the type of GN you have and guide treatment. After you’ve talked to your healthcare provider about your type of GN, see its name later in this section to learn more about it.

In children, nephrotic syndrome is much more common and most children have a type called minimal change disease (MCD). Most of these cases are related to problems with the immune system damaging the kidneys. In most children, nephrotic syndrome can be treated with steroids, like prednisone. Although the only way to know for sure if your child has MCD is by doing a kidney biopsy, most children don’t need a biopsy unless steroids aren’t working or they relapse (the disease comes back) too many times.

Common questions when your child has nephrotic syndrome

Minimal change disease (MCD) is a rare kidney disease where the tiny filters that clean your blood (glomeruli) become damaged and leak protein into your urine. The disease gets its name because you can’t see the damage on a kidney biopsy under a regular microscope (meaning there is ‘minimal change’). You can only see the damage under a very powerful microscope.

About 80% of cases of nephrotic syndrome in children and 10% of cases of nephrotic syndrome in adults are due to MCD.

What causes MCD?

MCD can be:

• Primary: It happens on its own without a known reason. In this case, it’s often related to problems in the immune system.
• Secondary: It’s likely related to one of your medicines or another health condition, such as cancer, infection, or allergies.

What are the symptoms of MCD?

Symptoms of MCD include:

• a lot of protein in the urine (proteinuria) This can make the urine look frothy.
• low levels of blood protein (hypoalbuminemia)
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.
• high cholesterol

Children and adults may also have other symptoms. Adults may feel tired and have trouble focusing. Children may not feel hungry (poor appetite), they may feel more cranky and tired, or pee less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you or your child are feeling to help find out if these other symptoms may be related to GN.

How is MCD treated?

The first step in managing MCD is to find out if there is a medicine or other health condition causing the MCD. If there is, the treatment would be to stop taking the medicine that’s causing the problem or treat the other health condition.

For primary MCD, the first treatment is usually prednisone, a corticosteroid medicine.

There are other treatments if prednisone isn’t working or you or your child have relapses (the MCD comes back). These medicines work on the immune system. Examples include cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, and rituximab. Talk to your healthcare provider about which medicine is right for you. You can also ask about research studies on MCD that are trying new treatments.

Your healthcare provider may also recommend:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) medicines to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• blood thinners to prevent blood clots (these are used rarely)
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

What can I expect from treatment?

For adults, prednisone usually starts working within a month, but it can take up to 4 months to take full effect.

For children, prednisone usually starts working more quickly, and usually takes full effect in about 4 weeks.

It’s very common to relapse and need prednisone again, usually within the first few years. About 10% to 25% of adults and children will have many relapses. Your healthcare provider may suggest repeating prednisone treatment or trying other treatments if the prednisone isn’t working or is causing problems. Some of the other medicines for MCD may need to be taken for several years.

In most people, MCD does not lead to kidney failure.

Focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a rare kidney disease where the tiny filters that clean the blood (glomeruli) become damaged and leak protein into your urine. The disease gets its name because the damage (scarring or sclerosis) that you see on a kidney biopsy sample is on some but not all glomeruli (focal) and shows up in sections (segmental).

FSGS is one of the most common causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults in Canada. It is less common in children.

What causes FSGS?

FSGS can be:

• Primary: It happens on its own without a known reason. It’s often related to problems in the immune system.
• Secondary: It’s likely related to one of your medicines, a drug exposure, another health condition, such as low birth weight, obesity, or a viral infection, or in some cases may be genetic (you inherited it from your family).

What are the symptoms of FSGS?

Symptoms of FSGS include:

• a lot of protein in the urine (proteinuria) This can make the urine look frothy.
• low levels of blood protein (hypoalbuminemia)
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.
• high cholesterol

Children and adults may also have other symptoms. Adults may feel tired and have trouble focusing. Children may not feel hungry (poor appetite), they may feel more cranky and tired, or pee less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you or your child are feeling to help find out if these other symptoms may be related to GN.

What is the treatment for FSGS?

The first step in managing FSGS is to find out if there is a medicine or other health condition causing the FSGS. If there is, the treatment would be to stop the taking the medicine that’s causing the problem or treat the other health condition.

For primary FSGS, the first treatment is usually prednisone, a corticosteroid medicine. There are other treatments if prednisone isn’t working or you have relapses (the FSGS comes back). These medicines work on the immune system. Examples include cyclosporine, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab. Talk to your healthcare provider about which medicine is right for you. You can also ask about research studies on FSGS that are trying new treatments.

Your healthcare provider may also recommend:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) medicines to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• blood thinners to prevent blood clots (these are used rarely)
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

What can I expect from treatment?

For most adults with FSGS, treatment starts working in about 2 to 3 months. But it can take up to 4 months to work.

It is very common to relapse and need prednisone again, typically within the first few years. Some people will have many relapses. Your healthcare provider may suggest repeat courses of prednisone or other treatments for this if the prednisone isn’t working or is causing problems. Some of the other medicines may need to be taken for several years.

About half of adults with FSGS already have problems with how their kidneys work (impaired kidney function) by the time they’re diagnosed. Even with treatment, FSGS can scar the kidneys for life and cause kidney failure.

Because FSGS is much less common in children, talk to your healthcare provider about what to expect from your child’s treatment.

Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is a rare kidney disease. It happens when immune complexes build up in the kidney. Immune complexes are made when antibodies attack something they think is harmful, like an infection or virus. The body usually gets rid of immune complexes, but in MGN, they build up and cause the kidney to leak large amounts of protein into the urine.

MGN is one of the most common causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults in Canada. But it is rare in children.

What causes MGN?

MGN can be:

• Primary: It happens on its own without a known reason. It’s often related to problems in the immune system. This is the most common type in adults.
• Secondary: It’s likely related to one of your medicines or other health problems such as infection, autoimmune disease (a disease where your immune system attacks healthy parts of your body), or cancer.

What are the symptoms of MGN?

Symptoms of MGN include:

• a lot of protein in the urine (proteinuria). This can make the urine look frothy.
• low levels of blood protein (hypoalbuminemia)
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.
• high cholesterol

Children and adults may also have other symptoms. Adults may feel tired and have trouble focusing. Children may not feel hungry (poor appetite), they may feel more cranky and tired, or pee less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you or your child are feeling to help find out if these other symptoms may be related to GN.

What is the treatment for MGN?

The first step in management is to determine if there is a medicine or other health condition causing the MGN. If found, the treatment would be to stop the offending medicine or treat the underlying health condition.

For primary MGN, the majority of people will need other treatments if the disease does not go away, such as prednisone and cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, or rituximab. Talk to your healthcare provider about which medicine is right for you. You can also ask about research studies on MGN that are trying new treatments.

Your healthcare provider may also recommend:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) medicines to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• blood thinners to prevent blood clots (often used in severe cases)
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

What can I expect from treatment?

In some people, the disease will go away on its own before they need treatment.

For adults that do need treatment, most will feel better and go into a complete remission (MGN goes away completely). Relapses are rare, but they can happen.

About 1 in 10 adults will develop kidney failure.

Because MGN is much less common in children, talk to your healthcare provider about what to expect from your child’s treatment.

ANCA-associated vasculitis is a group of rare and serious diseases that cause damage (inflammation) to small blood vessels in the kidneys and other parts of the body. There are 3 types your healthcare provider may tell you about: granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (eGPA).

What causes ANCA-associated vasculitis?

ANCA-associated vasculitis is an autoimmune disease and is named after the ANCA (antineutrophil cytoplasmic) antibody. Antibodies are proteins that your immune system makes to fight things like viruses and bacteria. In ANCA-associated vasculitis, antibodies attack healthy cells called neutrophils (a type of white blood cell), instead of harmful things. This causes inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels. Inflammation in the blood vessels can cause serious health problems for kidneys and other organs. Why this happens is unknown.

What are the symptoms of ANCA-associated vasculitis?

When ANCA-associated vasculitis affects the kidneys, you or your child may have:

• blood in the urine (hematuria)
• more protein in the urine than normal (proteinuria)
• higher creatinine in the blood (this shows the kidneys aren’t working well)
• high blood pressure (hypertension) Usually there are no symptoms, but in severe cases hypertension can cause headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision problems.
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.
• ANCA antibodies in the blood

If ANCA-associated vasculitis affects other organs, you or your child may have:

• a rash
• sinus problems
• nose bleeds
• nose or mouth sores
• ear infections
• shortness of breath
• cough or coughing up blood

Children and adults may also have other symptoms. Adults may feel tired and have trouble focusing. Children may not feel hungry (poor appetite), they may feel more cranky and tired, or pee less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you or your child are feeling to help find out if these other symptoms may be related to GN.

How is ANCA-associated vasculitis treated?

There are 2 stages of treatment:

• Initial treatment: These treatments aim to get control of the disease quickly and include prednisone (a corticosteroid) to control the inflammation along with another medicine that works on the immune system (such as cyclophosphamide or rituximab). Your healthcare provider may also suggest plasma exchange in certain cases. This is a procedure that separates blood into its different parts and removes the antibodies from the blood, but it does not work in all cases. People are usually on initial treatment for 3 to 6 months.
• Maintenance treatment: These treatments aim to control the disease long term and include other medicines that work on the immune system (such as rituximab or azathioprine). Most people need to be on these treatments for at least 2 years, and sometimes they take them for life.
Your healthcare provider may also recommend:
• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

If the disease is severe, some people need dialysis. Dialysis is a treatment that filters and cleans the blood using a machine, but it does not treat the disease. With treatment, most people with ANCA-associated vasculitis can stop dialysis. But some people can’t stop.

What can I expect from treatment?

Kidney disease from ANCA-associated vasculitis can get worse quickly. It can lead to kidney failure or even death. It’s very important to diagnose and treat this disease as early as possible.>/p>

Treatment works fairly quickly for most people. Relapses (when the disease comes back) are common with some forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis. The treatments can also cause serious infections or side effects. Your healthcare provider will talk to you about what you can expect from treatment.

Anti-GBM disease (anti-glomerular basement membrane disease) is a serious disease that causes damage (inflammation) to small blood vessels in the kidneys and/or other parts of the body. It usually affects the kidneys but may also affect the lungs. When both the kidneys and lungs are affected, it’s sometimes called Goodpasture’s disease.

This disease happens mostly in young and older adults, and it’s rare in children.

What causes Anti-GBM disease?

Anti-GBM disease is an autoimmune disease and is named after the anti-GBM antibody. Antibodies are proteins that your immune system makes to fight things like viruses and bacteria. In anti-GBM disease, antibodies attack part of the kidneys and sometimes lungs (the part affected is called the basement membrane) instead of harmful things. Why this happens is unknown

What are the symptoms of anti-GBM disease?

If anti-GBM disease affects your or your child’s kidneys, the symptoms may be:

• blood in the urine (hematuria)
• more protein in the urine than normal (proteinuria)
• higher creatinine in the blood (this shows the kidneys aren’t working well)
• high blood pressure (hypertension). Usually there are no symptoms, but in severe cases hypertension can cause headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision problems.
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.
• anti-GBM antibodies in the blood

If anti-GBM disease affects the lungs, you or your child may:

• have shortness of breath
• have a cough
• cough up blood

Children may also have other symptoms. These may include not feeling hungry (poor appetite), feeling cranky and tired, or peeing less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how your child is feeling to help you find out if other symptoms are related to GN.

How is anti-GBM disease treated?

Treatments work to get control of the disease quickly. They include a combination of:

• prednisone (a corticosteroid) to control the inflammation
• another medicine that works on the immune system (such as cyclophosphamide)
• plasma exchange, a procedure that separates blood into its different parts and removes the anti-GBM antibodies from the blood. Several plasma exchange treatments are needed over 1 to 2 weeks.

You will usually be on these treatments for 3 to 6 months. Most people don’t need any more treatment after that.

Your healthcare provider may also recommend:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

If the disease is severe, some people need dialysis. Dialysis is a treatment that filters and cleans the blood using a machine, but it does not treat the disease. Most people who need dialysis for anti-GBM disease need it long term, or they need a kidney transplant.

What can I expect from treatment?

Kidney disease from anti-GBM disease can get worse quickly. It can lead to kidney failure or even death. It’s very important to diagnose and treat this disease as early as possible.

Treatment works fairly quickly for most people, and relapses (when the disease comes back) are rare. But the treatments can cause serious infections or side effects. Your healthcare provider will talk to you about what you can expect from treatment.

IgA nephropathy is a kidney disease that happens when an antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) builds up in the kidneys. An antibody is a protein your body makes to fight off harmful things like bacteria and viruses. Adults and children with IgA nephropathy have higher than normal levels of IgA, which has less of a special sugar (galactose) than normal. Other antibodies attach to this IgA and form a clump (also called an immune complex). Some of the clumps get stuck in the kidney and cause damage. This damage can stop the kidneys from working properly to remove waste from the blood.

What are the symptoms of IgA nephropathy?

About 4 out of 10 people will feel like they have no symptoms. But for adults and children with symptoms, these may include:

• blood in the urine (hematuria)
• more protein in the urine than normal (proteinuria)
• higher creatinine in the blood (this shows the kidneys aren’t working well)
• high blood pressure (hypertension) Usually there are no symptoms, but in severe cases hypertension can cause headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision problems.
• swelling (edema). This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.

How is IgA nephropathy treated?

It’s still not clear what the best treatment for IgA nephropathy is. Many people with this disease may not need any treatment. Your healthcare provider may recommend the following treatments for you or your child:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

Some people may need more aggressive treatments, such as prednisone (a corticosteroid) or other medicines that work on the immune system. However, these don’t work in all people. You can also ask your healthcare provider about research studies on IgA nephropathy that are trying new treatments.

What can I expect from treatment?

IgA nephropathy doesn’t usually go away in adults or children. The effects on kidney function (how well the kidneys work) depend on how bad the disease is and how well medicines can control it.

For adults and children, if there is only a little or no protein in the urine, the disease likely won’t get worse. But about 3 out of 10 people will have long-term kidney problems.

Rarely, IgA nephropathy gets worse quickly. If this happens, your healthcare provider may suggest other medicines. If the disease is severe, some people need dialysis. Dialysis is a treatment that filters the blood using a machine, but does not treat the disease.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), also known as IgA vasculitis, is a condition that causes small blood vessels to get swollen and irritated. It can affect the skin, intestines, and the kidneys. When HSP affects the kidneys, it’s called HSP nephritis, and it causes blood and protein to leak into the urine. The exact cause of HSP is not known. About 2 out of 3 people who have HSP get it days after they have symptoms of an upper respiratory tract (breathing system) infection.

It can happen at any age, but HSP is much more common in children than adults. Most cases happen in children between the ages of 2 and 11 years old.

The following information is for children with HSP. Because HSP is much rarer and can be more severe in adult, adults should talk to their healthcare provider about what they can expect.

What are the symptoms of HSP?

Symptoms of HPS in your child may include:

• rash of raised spots (usually red or purple in colour) called purpura
• pain and swelling in the joints, belly, or both

When your child’s kidneys are affected your child may have:

• blood in the urine (hematuria)
• more protein in the urine than normal (proteinuria)
• higher creatinine in the blood (this shows the kidneys aren’t working well)
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• high blood pressure (hypertension) Usually there are no symptoms, but in severe cases hypertension can cause headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision problems.
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in your child’s face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.

How is HSP treated?

Your child may need Tylenol to help manage any joint or tummy pain. Most of the children will not need any other medicines, but a few of them will need the same treatment as for IgA nephropathy if their HSP disease is more severe.

What can I expect from treatment?

Most children with HSP feel better in about 1 month. For some children, the symptoms will last longer. Your child’s kidneys will usually get better as their symptoms go away. If your child’s kidneys leak blood and protein for a long time, your child may have residual IgA nephropathy (see the type of GN called IgA nephropathy).

Sometimes the disease comes back (relapse), usually within 1 year.

Lupus is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune disease. The body’s immune system (the part that helps fight infections) works too hard and attacks normal, healthy tissue, including the kidneys.

Lupus can affect people in many ways. Lupus nephritis happens when lupus damages the kidneys. This causes kidney inflammation and prevents the kidneys from doing their job of filtering out waste from the body (impaired kidney function). It may even cause kidney failure.

What are the symptoms of lupus nephritis?

Lupus can affect the kidneys in many different ways. Your or your child’s healthcare provider may do a kidney biopsy to know how it’s affecting the kidneys.

If your kidneys are affected, medical tests may show:

• blood in the urine (hematuria)
• more protein in the urine than normal (proteinuria)
• higher creatinine in the blood (this shows the kidneys aren’t working well)
• high blood pressure (hypertension) Usually there are no symptoms, but in severe cases hypertension can cause headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision problems.
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.

If other organs are affected, you or your child may have symptoms such as:

• feeling very tired
• a rash
• mouth ulcers
• losing a lot of hair
• joint pain
• swollen lymph nodes
• chest pain

Children and adults may also have other symptoms. Adults may feel tired and have trouble focusing. Children may not feel hungry (poor appetite), they may feel more cranky and tired, or pee less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you or your child are feeling to help find out if these other symptoms may be related to GN.

How is lupus nephritis treated?

There are 2 stages of treatment:

• Initial treatment: These treatments aim to get control of the disease quickly and include prednisone (a corticosteroid) to control the inflammation along with another medicine that works on the immune system (such as MMF or cyclophosphamide). This stage of treatment typically lasts 3 to 6 months.
• Maintenance treatment: These treatments aim to control the disease long term and include other medicines that work on the immune system (such as MMF or azathioprine). Most people need to be on these treatments for at least 2 years. Sometimes they need to be on them for life. Healthcare providers often prescribe the medicine hydroxychloroquine to treat joint and skin disease, and it may also stop lupus nephritis from coming back. People with lupus nephritis must see an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) every 12 months if they get this medicine.

Other treatments include:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker), medicines to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol
• healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking

You can also ask about research studies on lupus nephritis that are trying new treatments.

What can I expect from treatment?

Kidney disease from lupus nephritis can get worse quickly. It can lead to kidney failure or even death. It’s very important to diagnose and treat this disease as early as possible.

Treatment works fairly quickly for most people. Lupus is a chronic (long-term with no cure) illness that will usually come back at different times in a person’s life.

The treatments for lupus nephritis can cause serious infections and side effects. Your healthcare provider will talk to you about what you can expect from treatment.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is a group of rare autoimmune diseases (when the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues). It can happen to adults and children. The disease name describes how the kidney tissue looks under a microscope.

There are 2 types of MPGN:

• Immune-complex mediated MPGN is where both antibodies (immunoglobulins) and a protein called complement get trapped in the kidneys. This type is often caused by some infections or cancers.
• Complement mediated MPGN is where only the complement protein C3 gets trapped in the kidneys. This type is often genetic (inherited from family). It needs special genetic testing and other tests. This type of MPGN is sometimes called dense deposit disease.

What are the symptoms of MPGN?

Symptoms of MPGN include:

• blood in the urine (hematuria)
• more protein in the urine than normal (proteinuria)
• higher creatinine in the blood (this shows the kidneys aren’t working well)
• high blood pressure (hypertension) Usually there are no symptoms, but in severe cases hypertension can cause headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision problems.
• swelling (edema) This happens when your body holds on to extra salt and water. You may notice swelling in the face, eyes, belly, hands, and feet, and it can cause weight gain.

Children and adults may also have other symptoms. Adults may feel tired and have trouble focusing. Children may not feel hungry (poor appetite), they may feel more cranky and tired, or pee less than usual. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you or your child are feeling to help find out if these other symptoms may be related to GN.

What is the treatment for MPGN?

The first step in management is to determine if there is another health condition causing the MPGN. If found, the treatment would be to treat the underlying health condition.

There are 2 stages of treatment your healthcare provider may suggest, but these only work in some people:

• Initial treatment: These treatments aim to get control of the disease quickly and include a combination of prednisone (a corticosteroid) to control the inflammation along with another medicine that works on the immune system (such as MMF or rituximab). This stage of treatment usually lasts 3 to 6 months.
• Maintenance treatment: These treatments aim to control the disease long term and include additional medicines that work on the immune system (such as MMF or rituximab). Most people need to be on these treatments for at least 2 years. Some people need to be on them for life.

Your healthcare provider may also recommend the following treatments for you or your child:

• diuretics (water pills) and a low-salt diet to help manage swelling
• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker), medicines to manage blood pressure and lower urine protein
• cholesterol-lowering medicine (statins) to manage cholesterol

You can also ask about research studies on MPGN that are trying new treatments.

If the disease is severe, some people need dialysis. Dialysis is a treatment that filters and cleans the blood, but it does not treat the disease. Most people who need dialysis for MPGN need dialysis long-term or a kidney transplant.

What can I expect from treatment?

MPGN is a chronic condition, which means that it doesn’t go away. Most, but not all, children with MPGN will have long-term kidney problems.

What to expect from treatment depends on the type of MPGN you or your child has. Both types can be very serious. Immune complex MPGN often gets better after finding the cause and getting treatment. With complement mediated MPGN, the disease may come back many times and could lead to kidney failure. ​​​