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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Holly Mabillard, Dr Nik TzoumasORCiD, Professor John SayerORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2024. Alport syndrome is a genetic kidney disease that causes worsening of kidney function over time, often progressing to kidney failure. Some types of Alport syndrome cause other symptoms and signs, including hearing loss and eye abnormalities. Research now indicates that Alport syndrome (autosomal dominant inheritance) is the most common form. Alport syndrome can have X-linked or a rare form of autosomal recessive inheritance. Traditionally, a kidney biopsy was used to diagnose Alport syndrome, but genetic testing provides a more precise and less invasive means of diagnosis and reveals the underlying pattern of inheritance. At present, there are no specific curative treatments for Alport syndrome however there is a strong international effort in pursuit of future therapies. Currently, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) if a patient cannot tolerate an ACEi, slow down the progression of kidney disease and can delay the onset of kidney failure by years. There are other potential treatments in research that potentially can help delay the onset of kidney issues. Early treatment of patients and identification of their at-risk relatives is a priority. People living with Alport syndrome and their doctors now benefit from an active international research community working on translating further treatments into clinical practice and providing up-to-date clinical guidelines.
Author(s): Mabillard H, Ryan R, Tzoumas N, Gear S, Sayer JA
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Rare Diseases
Year: 2024
Volume: 3
Online publication date: 13/05/2024
Acceptance date: 15/02/2024
ISSN (electronic): 2731-085X
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44162-024-00036-z
DOI: 10.1007/s44162-024-00036-z
Data Access Statement: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
