How serious is Alport Syndrome?
Alport Syndrome causes progressive kidney damage. The glomeruli and other normal kidney structures such as tubules are gradually replaced by scar tissue, leading to kidney failure. All boys with Alport Syndrome, regardless of the genetic type, eventually develop kidney failure. These boys often need dialysis or transplantation during their teen-age or young adult years, but kidney failure can occur as late as 40-50 years of age in some men with Alport Syndrome. Most girls with X-linked Alport Syndrome do not develop kidney failure. However, as woman with Alport Syndrome get older the possibility of kidney failure increases. All boys and girls with autosomal recessive Alport Syndrome develop kidney failure, usually by their teens or young adult years. People with autosomal dominant Alport Syndrome are usually well into middle age before kidney failure develops.
