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.
