IgAN Across the Age Spectrum: The Pediatric Perspective.

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) presents with different expressions and natural histories across ages. The direct comparison of incidence and progression of IgAN in children and adults is difficult due to different policies for performing kidney biopsy in different ages and countries. In the past decade the focus has been on assessing the individual risk profile at kidney biopsy or after 1 year of follow-up in children and adults. This would help avoid overtreatment and unnecessary drug exposure in benign cases of IgAN, and promptly initiate an aggressive therapy in progressive ones. This issue is particularly relevant in children. This review addresses some recent insights into the similarities and differences of IgAN across the age spectrum, with a particular focus on the prognostic predictors of progression in children and in adults, aiming at offering some critical elements useful for treatment choices for IgAN across ages.