Dietary gluten and primary IgA nephropathy

A brief review reports the results of a study of whether gluten may have some role in primary immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy unrelated to celiac disease. The results seemed to indicate a relation between a gluten-free diet and a decrease in the levels of IgA-containing immune complexes in patients with primary IgA nephropathy. These results lead to an hypothesis that dietary factors may have a pathogenic role in primary IgA nephropathy, and may explain the observed uneven geographical distribution of this nephropathy, being most common in the Mediterranean area where gluten-rich foods represent the basic dietary ingredients.(wz)