Polycystic Kidney Disease is an inherited condition that results in ongoing
kidney damage related to cysts occupying the kidneys. The disease has two basic
forms: ARPKD and ADPKD. Will PKD cause breathing issues in people with the
disease?
People with PKD have malformed, enlarged kidneys which are filled with cysts
containing "urine-like" fluid instead of normal renal tissue. Over time, kidney
failure may be caused.
What causes breathing issues in PKD?
▪ ARPKD is a relatively rare disease, diagnosed in 1 out of 20, 000 newborns.
The disease often affects the infant even before birth. On prenatal sonograms,
we can detect decreased about of amniotic fluid due to decline of renal function
and enlarged kidney. Sometimes, these problems cause abnormal lung development,
resulting in immediate, life-threatening breathing problems at birth.
▪ The abnormal gene that causes ADPKD presents at birth, but the disease
often begin to show symptoms until patients reach the age of 30~40. Patients may
also develop cysts in the kidneys, liver and pancreas. In this case, the
presence of breathing issues usually indicate the the disease has progress to
advanced stages.
Besides, ADPKD causes big kidneys that stretch the abdomen and chronic kidney
disease damage, leading to the problems that include:
Fatigue, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, itching, high BUN and
creatinine, pain around the kidneys or in the flank, hematuria (blood in the
urine), anemia, high blood pressure, kidney infection, kidney stones, etc.
In western medicine, PKD cannot be cured or reversed, and treatment is
targeted at relieving the problems. These symptomatic treatments include
medications, surgery, dialysis, kidney transplant, etc. Under these therapies,
the curative effects are often not satisfactory.
In order to eliminate the problems caused by PKD like breathing issues, the
key points of treatment should focus on shrinking the cysts enlargement,
reducing oppression to renal tissues, and recovering the kidney function. By
doing this, we can stop the progression of the disease.
