PhD Defence 01.09.2017 - Živile Riispere

Živile Riispere will defend her doctoral thesis titled „IgA Nephropathy study according the Oxford Classification: IgA Nephropathy clinical-morphological correlations, disease progressioon and the effect of renoprotective therapy“ on 1 September at 14.00.

Professor Mai Rosenberg, University of Tartu, Institute of Clinical Medicine

Opponent:
Professor Jukka Mustonen (PhD), Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Tampere (Finland)

Description of the problem
Most glomerulopathies, even the more common types, are rare diseases. However, they are important since they frequently affect young people, often cannot be cured, and can lead to chronic kidney disease. IgA nephropathy (IgAN) remains the most common primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. Beside diabetic nephropathy, IgAN is another important health-care issue in nephrology as it often affects young adults, and the nephropathy keeps a slow but relentless clinical course.
The kidney is a target of injury in IgAN, yet the primary defect originates from a systemic aberrant glycosylation of O-linked glycans in the hinge region of IgA1, resulting in the increased serum levels of galactosedeficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1). As the immunochemical abnormality of IgA is not corrected by renal transplantation, not surprisingly IgAN can frequently recur in allograft. An effective and specific treatment for IgAN is still lacking.

Result and benefit
According to the study, conclusion is that during the period of 2001– 2010, inflammatory glomerulopathies dominated in the spectrum of primary glomerulopathies in the Estonian population. Comparing this data with the data of the period of 1991–1994, the change towards non-inflammatory glomerulopathies was noticed. The distribution pattern of various glomerulopathies largely corresponds to the distribution described in the other European centres. IgA nephropathy has been the most common primary glomerulonephritis in our population and it has not changed over the time.
Asymptomatic microhematuria and asymptomatic microhematuria with proteinuria were the main presenting clinical syndromes in IgAN patients, comprising 48% and 39% of all cases, respectively.
Findings of male and female patients showed differences in IgAN progressioon because more rapid IgAN progression occurred in males. Our findings imply a necessity to pursue gender-specific approach to the management of IgAN patients.

Location: Ravila 19, auditoorium 1006