Recommendations and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Fabry nephropathy in adults

Abstract

In this Review, participants in the 7thInternational Fabry Nephropathy Roundtable, which was convened in Barcelona, Spain in June 2007, propose guidelines and recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Fabry nephropathy in adults. The roles of enzyme replacement and antiproteinuric therapy are emphasized. The authors suggest that these organ-specific recommendations could have a greater impact on clinical practice than general Fabry disease guidelines. Progressive loss of kidney function complicates Fabry disease, an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder that arises from deficiency of α-galactosidase activity. Heterozygous females with Fabry disease can be as severely affected as hemizygous males, who have the classic form of the disease. Enzyme-replacement therapy with recombinant human α-galactosidase clears the glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide from kidney cells, and can stabilize renal function in adults with mild to moderate Fabry nephropathy. However, adults with more advanced nephropathy and overt proteinuria do not respond as well. For these patients, antiproteinuric therapy given in conjunction with enzyme-replacement therapy might prevent further decline in kidney function. In this Review, we propose guidelines and recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Fabry nephropathy in adults, based on published data and on the consensus of opinion of participants in the 7th International Fabry Nephropathy Roundtable in 2007. These organ-specific guidelines could be easier to implement than general guidelines, provided they are used in the context of an overall multisystem care approach.