Abstract
Primary most common cause of IgA nephropathy represents glomerulopathy worldwide. While initially thought this disease course was benign and self-limited, a few studies have appeared that it cause renal disease development and continued to end-stage renal disease in nearly one-third of the affected patients. IgA nephropathy is commonly actuated by autoimmune antigens targeting the glomerular mesangium, leading to IgA accumulation. This literature review investigates the efficacy and safety of corticosteroids therapy in IgA nephropathy and provides an updated review of the disease mechanism and pathophysiology. We used the PubMed database, searching for relevant articles on the topic. The following Mesh words were used: IgA nephropathy, corticosteroids, management, adverse effects. Several immunosuppressive therapies were used in addition to standard management for IgA nephropathy. Corticosteroids seem to provide more beneficial effects than other agents, and some studies addressed this efficacy when corticosteroids are added to other immunosuppressive agents. Nonetheless, serious adverse events were reported in the steroids groups, such as serious infection, gastrointestinal symptoms and bleeding, diabetes mellitus, and impaired glucose intolerance. These serious adverse events cannot be ignored and must be encountered seriously in future clinical trials.