Kidney Cyst Symptoms - Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)

Polycystic kidney disease, also referred to as PKD, is a disease that is inherited and is characterized by numerous fluid filled cysts growing in the kidneys. These cysts of polycystic kidney disease can gradually replace most of the kidneys’ mass, thus inhibiting kidney function, eventually resulting in kidney failure.

When the kidneys fail due to polycystic kidney disease, which usually occurs only after several years, the affected person will need dialysis or transplantation of the affected kidney. Around half of the people afflicted with the primary form of polycystic kidney disease develop kidney failure, otherwise known as end-stage renal disease, or ESRD. Polycystic kidney disease can also affect the liver by forming cysts in the organ and also have an adverse impact on other organs like the blood vessels in the brain and the heart. In fact, these complications are what often assist doctors identify PKD, differentiating it from the simple and harmless cysts that form quite often with advancing age. These kidney cysts caused by PKD can also get infected and may be painful.

Around 500,000 people in the US are afflicted with polycystic kidney disease, with it being the fourth leading cause of the failure of the kidneys. And also, it is the most common type of inherited disease in the US.

What are the Types of Polycystic Kidney Disease?

Medical science defines two main types of polycystic kidney disease and one noninherited type: Autosomal dominant PKD; Autosomal recessive PKD; and Acquired cystic kidney disease, or ACKD.

Autosomal dominant Polycystic kidney disease: This is an inherited form of the disease, and it accounts for 90% of the cases of PKD. The meaning of the terminology ‘Autosomal dominant’ is that if one of the parents is afflicted with the disease, there is a 50% chance of a child getting the disease.

Autosomal recessive Polycystic kidney disease: This too is an inherited type of the disease, although it occurs rarely. In this form, a child can have the disease although his/her parents may not have it. This comes about when both the parents have the recessive gene, and if the child should get both the recessive genes, he or she will get the disease.

Acquired cystic kidney disease, ACKD: This is related to long-term problems of the kidneys, occurring especially in people who have experienced kidney failure and hence have been on dialysis for a long period of time. This is the reason this form of the disease occurs in people of advanced age. This type of PKD is not inherited.

What are Polycystic Kidney Disease’s Symptoms?

There are several symptoms of Polycystic kidney disease. An individual afflicted with PKD may not experience every symptom.

Here are a few of PKD’s most common symptoms:

• Repeated infections of the kidneys
• Pain in the sides and back
• Infections of the urinary tract
• Blood being passed in the urine
• Cysts in the pancreas and the liver
• Abnormalities in the heart valves
• Stones in the kidneys
• Brain aneurysms
• Diverticulosis
• High blood pressure

Autosomal recessive PKD is usually also referred to as ‘infantile PKD’, because they can begin occurring before birth. Kidney failure usually occurs within a few years when children are born with this disease. The severity of this illness varies. Babies that are born with a severe form of the disease usually do not survive longer than a few hours, or at the most a few days. Children that have the infantile type may have enough kidney function to live normally for a few years. Those who have the juvenile type of the disease can live up to their teens, and even their twenties, although they generally have problems of the liver as well.

In addition to the list of symptoms given above, children affected with Autosomal recessive PKD also have low blood-cell counts, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins. Since early physical development is dependent on kidney function, children who suffer from Autosomal recessive PKD are generally smaller in size than normal.

How does Polycystic Kidney Disease affect Health?

Generally, Polycystic kidney disease occurs in a mild form, causing only minimal problems. Around 60 percent of those afflicted with it develop high blood pressure, which can be treated with drugs. Around 50 percent of people who have Polycystic kidney disease develop failure of the kidneys by the time they are 60 years of age, and thus will require dialysis and the transplantation of kidneys. Polycystic kidney disease is usually worse in those who have sickle cell disease, African Americans, and in men.