What Are the Causes of Purpura Nephritis

  Henoch-Schonlein Purpura is a kind of syndrome characterized by skin purpura, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, arthritis and kidney damages. The basic lesion is systemic necrotizing vasculitis. With kidney damages, it is called Henoch-Schonlein Purpura Nephritis, and Purpura Nephritis for short.
Purpura Nephritis can occur at any age, but it is more common in children and teenagers with the age between 5~15. And it is rarely seen in adults who are more than 20 years old. This disease usually occurs in cold seasons.
The cause of Purpura Nephritis is not clear yet, but it has relations with infections and allergic reaction:
1. Before the onset of Purpura Nephritis, about 1/3 of the patients suffer from infections, and the most common is the upper respiratory tract infection. Bacteria infection, virus infection, blood flukes infection or other parasitic infections can also be seen in patients.
2. About 1/4 of the patients have a history of drug allergy. And the commonly seen drugs are antibiotics, sulfonamides, isoniazide, salicylic acid, quinine, etc.
3. Food allergy: fishes, shrimps, crabs, eggs, milk, etc.
4. Other allergies caused by pollen, insect bite or cold stimulation.
The pathogenesis of Purpura Nephritis is not clear yet, but it is believed that the abnormal immune response is the main pathogenesis of this disease. The reason is that before the onset of this disease, patients usually have allergies caused by definite foreign substances. When the disease attacks, the level of IgA in the serum increases in most patients; and after the attack, the deposits of immunoglobulin and complements can be seen in glomeruli and skins. Data indicates that IgA plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Purpura Nephritis. As for the exact mechanism of IgA in the onset of this disease is not clear yet, in some people's opinion, it may be antigen, antibody, or non-specific antibody.
In addition, the recent studies show that the onset of Purpura Nephritis have relations with genetic predisposition.


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