Basic Knowledge of Adult Polycystic Kidney Disease

Adult polycystic kidney disease is caused by a mistake in the DNA and the incidence is high, one with the wrong DNA in 1000 people. About 10% of end-stage renal failure is caused by adult polycystic kidney disease. Approximate 50% of patients will develop end-stage renal failure after 50 years old. It is called adult polycystic kidney disease because of the symptoms occurring in adulthood but the cysts are born with. With age, the cysts will become larger and larger, which leads to the decrease of renal parenchyma and eventually end-stage renal failure.
Symptoms often occur after age 40. The common symptoms include:
1. Back pain. People with polycystic kidney disease often feel back pain which is related to the enlarged kidneys.
2. Hematuria (blood in the urine). Blood in the urine is caused by the complications like stone or infection.
3. Upper urinary tract infection. It can cause some symptoms like fever, back pain, urinary irritation etc.
4. People with polycystic kidney disease may develop stone.
5. High blood pressure. High blood pressure often is followed by the renal insufficiency.
6. Renal failure. When renal failure comes, uremia symptoms may occur.
In addition, 30%-40% patients develop liver cysts and 5%-10% patients develop pancreases cysts and spleen cysts.
Enlarged kidneys can be touched when doing physical examinations. Red blood cells and protein can be present in the urine test and white blood cells will occur if you are infected. When kidney is damaged, anemia will occur and creatinine and BUN will be elevated. The enlarged kidneys can be found through CT scan. Polycystic kidney disease can be diagnosed with clinical manifestations and some tests.
People with polycystic kidney disease need to have enough rest and avoid injuring the abdomen in case of burst of cysts. A prompt treatment for infection, high blood pressure, haemorrhagia is necessary.
Besides the conventional treatment, there is new treatment for polycystic kidney disease – Micro-Chinese Medicine. If you are interested in the newest treatment, please consult our experts online or you can send email to us.