Polycystic kidney disease: symptoms, treatments, and causes

What is polycystic kidney disease?

Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by the presence of multiple kidney cysts, which grow slowly and progressively and are filled with liquid as if they were several bladders or bubbles filled with water of different sizes.

The most common type is adult polycystic kidney disease (PADD), which affects people aged 30 to 40 years, both men and women, of all ethnicities.

Causes

Polycystic kidney disease is inherited in 90% of cases and its cause is due to mutations in the PKD1 (85%) and PKD2 (15%) genes, which pass from parents to children in a dominant way, that is, if one parent has illness, your child has a 50% chance of having it too.

When discovered of polycystic kidney disease in a family, all close relatives should be investigated after the age of 18 and advised by nephrologist in Delhi if they wish to have children.

Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Symptoms of polycystic kidney disease usually occur due to the growth of cysts, which increases the size of the kidneys. This causes them to appear:

• Back pain, continuous or intermittent, in the lumbar region
• Pain in the abdomen
• Blood in the urine
• Excessive urination at night.

Diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease

The simplest form of diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease is through ultrasound examination, however, sometimes the cysts are small and are not easily visible. If in doubt, a renal computed tomography or nuclear magnetic resonance will remove the doubt.

A genetic test is the best way to detect the disease, but it is not universally available.

Treatment of polycystic kidney disease

According to the best nephrologist in Delhi, there is no specific treatment and polycystic kidney disease has no cure, although many studies are ongoing and may change this scenario in the future. However, it is part of the treatment to relieve the symptoms of polycystic kidney disease.

It is necessary that the patient with polycystic kidney disease undergo regular medical monitoring with a nephrologist in Noida. The kidney specialist in Delhi will order blood and urine tests establishing the follow-up frequency. The nephrologist in Gurgaon will recommend remedies that you should avoid that can make your kidney function worse.

In addition, it is important that the patient:

• Avoid alcohol
• Stop smoking
• Reduce your salt intake.

The patient must also be careful when practicing physical activities. Contact sports that eventually rupture the cysts by direct trauma (field and indoor soccer, judo, etc.); should be avoided, suggests kidney specialist in Noida.

Possible complications

A frequent complication of polycystic kidney disease is that the larger cysts can rupture leading to the appearance of blood in the urine, which can be frightening but is usually self-limiting. This means that rest and hydration usually stop bleeding.

Patients with polycystic kidney disease may have episodes of urine infection, which must be recognized early so that they do not cause further damage than those already existing in the kidney structure. In addition, patients have a higher frequency of stones (kidney stones), which should be avoided with specialized medical monitoring, suggests kidney specialist in Gurgaon.

Blood pressure tends to rise and almost 2/3 of patients with polycystic kidney disease have hypertension. Pressure control is essential so that the kidneys do not suffer the consequences of this further complication.

Combining changes in structure due to the presence of cysts, plus urinary infections, kidney stones, and increased blood pressure, it is easy to understand why the kidneys may lose some of their function until it is necessary to replace their functions with dialysis in Delhi. This stage of the disease usually happens after the age of 60.

Cysts can be present in other locations such as the liver, ovaries, and pancreas. Patients with polycystic kidney disease and a history of headache may have a cerebral aneurysm (a dilation in the cerebral vessel) due to malformation. Diverticular bowel disease and changes in heart valves are also associated with polycystic kidney disease, says nephrologist in Delhi.

Prevention

As it is an inherited disease, polycystic kidney disease cannot be prevented.