Polycystic Kidney Disease Symptoms

You may or may not know that the most widespread, life-threatening inherited disease is Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). Across the world, in the region of 7 million people suffer from this genetic condition. Before we look at the most common Polycystic Kidney Disease symptoms, it is useful to know a little about the disease itself. What actually happens when someone has PKD, is cysts full of fluid begin to form on the kidneys. As more and more cysts appear the kidneys grow larger in size but begin to lose their ability to function, eventually leading to kidney failure. There are 3 types of PKD, of which 2 of these are genetic and the other comes about through old age, as a result of dialysis, or through long history of kidney problems.

The first type of PKD which affects the vast majority of sufferers (90%) is called autosomal dominant PKD. It only requires one of the parents to pass on the abnormal gene and so a child has a 1 in 2 chance of developing PKD in this case. The other, childhood form, which is much rarer, is autosomal recessive PKD. In this case, one needs to inherit the gene from 2 affected parents meaning they have a 1 in 4 chance of getting PKD.

So, if there is a history of PKD in your family you would certainly want to look out for some of the Polycystic Kidney Disease symptoms in mid life, when they generally start to appear. The main symptoms are headaches, regular urinary tract infections, bloody urine and aches and pains (sometimes severe) in the abdomen and lower back areas. These Polycystic Kidney Disease symptoms usually do not begin to be felt for many years after cysts begin to grow on the kidneys. There is no cure for the disease but visiting a doctor will enable you to be advised on medications to ease the pain of the symptoms, and also to help slow down the progress of the disease.