2013-07-22

Polycystic Kidney Disease And Pregnancy


Polycystic Kidney Disease  And Pregnancy
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of numerous cysts in the kidneys. The kidneys are two organs, each about the size of a fist, located in the upper part of a person’s abdomen, toward the back. The kidneys filter wastes and extra fluid from the blood to form urine. They also regulate amounts of certain vital substances in the body.
So Can women with Polycystic kidney disease have a baby?
Women suffer from autosomal recessive PKD, which is a rare, inherited form of the disease. The cause is believed to be a genetic flaw. Parents without signs of the disease can have a baby who suffers from it, if both parents carry the abnormal gene. If only one parent carries the gene, the baby is safe but could act as a carrier and pass the gene to his or her own children.
Parents who do not have the disease can have a child with the disease, if both parents carry the abnormal gene and both pass the gene to their child.
If you are a carrier of this gene, there is a 25 percent chance, with each pregnancy, that your child will have this type of PKD.
Most of the women with PKD (80 percent) have successful and uneventful pregnancies. However, some women with PKD have an increased risk for serious complications for themselves and their babies. This includes women with PKD who also have:
high blood pressure
decreased kidney function
Women who have PKD with high blood pressure develop pre-eclampsia (or toxemia) in 40 percent of pregnancies. This is a life-threatening disorder for both the mother and baby, and it can develop suddenly and without warning. Therefore, all women with PKD, particularly those who also have high blood pressure, should be followed closely during their pregnancy by their doctor.

2013-07-21

The Reason Why Creatinine Is High for Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients


The Reason Why Creatinine Is High for Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients
Creatinine is a substance that is produced during the body's natural activity (metabolism). It is usually excreted from the body through the kidneys. If the kidneys start to become diseased for whatever reason, the level of creatinine rises in the blood stream. What are the reasons of high creatinine for Polycystic Kidney Disease? They are as follows:
●After Polycystic Kidney Disease patients get sick for a long time, the fluctuation and increasing of creatinine will arise in the clinical checking, even the blood creatinine level exceeds the normal range, from this we know PKD develops to renal insufficiency or uremia. That blood creatinine level exceeds normal range and urine creatinine level is subnormal are the main symptoms.
●Because the cysts in the kidney extends continuously, and then oppresses the ambient kidney tissues, which leads to the damage of kidney unit, the kidney volume outdistances the normal range in the late stage for PKD patients and no normal kidney unit can be seen in the microscope checking.
●After the kidney is violated by cysts in the kidney, firstly the damaged kidney inherent cells can come up the phenotype transformation, form the pathology change, stimulate the fibroblasts in kidney to transform into myofibroblast, and at the same time violate and arouse the inherent normal kidney tissues to occur the same lesion, which leads to the kidney's spreading process of extending and excitation type from the part to the whole. Because kidney is damaged continuously, the function of excreting rubbish will lower, which leads to the gather of cretinine and other toxins in the body , the rising of blood cretinine and urea nitrogen, and the declining of urine cretinine and filterability. Meanwhile the patients can also have hypertension and severe edema .
From the above reasons, we can get that if we want to control and cure polycystic kidney, shrinking the cysts and repairing the damaged inherent cells is no time to delay.

2013-07-19

Atrophic Kidney : Causes , Symptoms , Diagnosis and Removal


Atrophic Kidney
Atrophic kidney is a medical condition that is characterized by the shrinkage in the size of one or both kidneys due to an inadequate blood supply to the kidneys and/or loss of nephrons. This condition is also referred to as renal atrophy. The loss of nephrons could also cause the renal arteries and veins to shrink.
What Causes Atrophic Kidney?
Renal diseases, urinary tract obstruction, acute pyelonephritis or any condition that impacts the nephron function in a negative manner could give rise to renal atrophy.
Ischemia, which refers to the decreased supply of oxygen and nutrients due to inadequate blood flow to the kidneys, could also have an adverse effect on kidney function. Ischemia may occur due to atherosclerosis or the formation of renal cysts.
Renal artery occlusion, which is a blockage of the major arteries that supply blood to the kidneys, could also be caused by blood clots.
Damage to the renal parenchyma as a result of obstruction in the urinary system.
Compression of blood vessels as a result of renal cyst.
Renal atrophy symptoms
Renal atrophy occurs in patients nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and anemia. Continued deterioration will occur uremia. renal atrophy patients . renal atrophy will face, leg edema, the symptoms of skin itching, and may also be accompanied by swelling of the feet, some patients will have severe back pain. not long-term sedentary. renal atrophy due to long-term kidney problems, overwork caused suffering renal atrophy, legs and feet have swollen phenomenon, blood pressure will rise high with the sicker. The body will gradually become emaciated down.
Diagnosis  and Removal Of Atrophic Kidney
For chalking out the treatment plan, doctors first need to determine the underlying cause of this condition. Sonography and intravenous urography might not always help in the diagnosis, however, imaging procedures such as CT scan and MRI can surely help in the diagnosis of renal atrophy.
Atrophic kidney can be singular or bilateral. It depends on what the reason is. When a person is diagnosed with atrophic kidney the first thing the doctor wants to know is how much is the kidney functioning. At this stage it is not important to know the size of kidney and the percentage of its function left. If the kidney is completely non functional as a result of complete damage to the kidney, there is no other option left but to remove the non functional kidney.
However, when kidney is found to be functioning even at its minimal, all attempts are made to revitalize the kidney function. In case of urinary tract infection that is responsible for kidney atrophy, necessary medications are administered to reverse the bad kidney function. If the patient is suffering from kidney failure due to chronic kidney disease he may require undergoing dialysis. There may be a need for renal transplant in future.

2013-07-18

Chinese Herbs Medicine Help To Polycystic Kidney Disease


I. What is Polycystic Kidney Disease?
Polycystic Kidney Disease, namely fluid-filled cysts, develop in the kidneys, making the kidneysa honeycomb appearance. Gradually these cysts replace the normal kidney tissue, enlarging the kidneys and making them less and less able to function normally. Eventually, the kidneys fail completely.
II. How to treat PKD?
There is no such a therapy which can curethe disease totally at present,all the therapies are trying to control the disease and help the patients to live a longer life with a higher quality.
A. Operation therapy.
In western country, two kinds of operations called laparoscopic renal cyst decortieation (LRCD) and paracentesisare widely used for the PKD sufferers. By this way, the pain in the body can be released temporarily, but the cysts will recur after several months.
B. Transplantation of kidneys.
Many people think this is a way to help them stop suffering the disease. However, the things can not beas easy as people think. This is just like we throw out a bag of rubbish in the room, but we have to change another bag few days later as long as we are living there and producing rubbish. A new kidney certainly can help the patients’ live a longer life, but it is not always the best way. The patients will have to go and check the body in a regular time; meanwhile, they have to take some medicines to avoid the rejection.
C. Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Medicine can have effective effects on this disease by herbs. The medicine can play a role in the kidney just by external treatment, such as a medical bath without pain. However, the treatment may be a little bit longer and the patients have to be patient enough during the process.

2013-07-16

Polycystic Kidney Disease Diet


Polycystic Kidney Disease Diet
PKD is characterized by the presence of multiple cysts typically in both kidneys; however 17% of cases initially present with observable disease in one kidney, with most cases progressing to bilateral disease in adulthood. The cysts are numerous and are fluid-filled, resulting in massive enlargement of the kidneys. The disease can also damage the liver, pancreas and, in some rare cases, the heart and brain. The two major forms of polycystic kidney disease are distinguished by their patterns of inheritance.
Healthy kidneys regulate levels of potassium and phosphorus in the blood. As kidney function declines, the kidneys are less able to regulate these levels and serum potassium and serum phosphorus levels often become elevated. Nephrologists recommend low-potassium and low-phosphorus diets to offset the high serum levels of these minerals. If you have PKD, your nephrologist can recommend if potassium and phosphorus restriction is needed and how much of these minerals you can safely eat.
High phosphorus foods such as milk, organ meats, beer, chocolate and cola drinks should be avoided if your phosphorus levels are high. Doctors may prescribe phosphorus binders --- a type of drug that binds to the phosphorus and causes its excretion.
Eat foods in season and as close to a home grown state with little processing.
• Locally grown is best.
• Organic is second best.
• Fresh produce is third.
• Frozen is fourth.
• Try to avoid canned, prepared, fried, and microwaved food.
• Avoid foods that are kidney toxins.

2013-07-15

Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease In Women


Polycystic kidney disease is a disorder that affects the kidneys and other organs. Clusters of fluid-filled sacs, called cysts, develop in the kidneys and interfere with their ability to filter waste products from the blood. The growth of cysts causes the kidneys to become enlarged and can lead to kidney failure. Cysts may also develop in other organs, particularly the liver.
When PKD causes kidneys to fail-which usually happens after many years-the patient requires dialysis or kidney transplantation. About one-half of people with the most common type of PKD progress to kidney failure, also called end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Symptoms of  Polycystic Kidney Disease In Women
The most common symptoms of this condition are:
Pain in the back and the sides (between the ribs and hips)
Headaches.
When a person experiences these headaches, the dull pain can be temporary or persistent, and mild or severe.
Other symptoms seen in autosomal dominant PKD include:
Urinary tract infections (UTI)
Hematuria (blood in the urine)
High blood pressure
Kidney stones
Liver cysts
Pancreatic cysts
Abnormal heart valves
Aneurysms (bulges in the walls of blood vessels) in the brain

2013-07-14

Simple Kidney Cysts Removal

A cyst is a closed pouch or sac filled with air or liquid. Simple kidney cysts are usually small round sacs that have a thin wall and are filled with a watery fluid. As people get older, cysts can form on the surface or in the nephrons of the kidneys. They can range in size from a small pea to as large as a grapefruit. Cysts can also grow over time.
Kidney cysts are almost always benign (not cancerous). Usually, the cysts don't cause any problems. In fact, people can go through life without even knowing that they have them.
In most cases, simple kidney cysts do not need to be treated. However, if a cyst is putting too much pressure on another organ or is affecting the way a kidney works, it might be necessary to shrink or remove the cyst. There are two procedures that are most commonly used to treat simple kidney cysts:
Aspiration and sclerotherapy — The doctor inserts a long needle under the skin to puncture the cyst and drain the fluid. A strong solution is then injected into the cyst to shrink it. This procedure can be repeated, if necessary.
Surgery — Surgery to remove a cyst can usually be done laparoscopically, using thin instruments inserted through small holes in the abdomen. During surgery, the doctor first drains the cyst and then cuts or burns away the cyst itself.
When a kidney does not work and needs to be removed, minimally invasive surgery with laparoscopy is available for you at the Urology Academic Practice.
Three little incisions are made into the abdomen to allow small surgical instruments to enter the abdomen. The kidney is freed inside the abdomen and removed through one of the incisions in the skin. This procedure usually requires an overnight stay in the hospital.

2013-07-12

Symptoms of Cortical Renal Cyst


Feeling of Fullness
Once a cyst becomes large enough, it is common for patients to notice a premature feeling of fullness after eating. Some may become full or bloated after a few bites, while with others it is mild and may not be noticeable at all.
Back and Stomach Pain
A sore feeling in the lower back and stomach, on one or both sides, is common with patients who have cortical renal cyst. The pain can range from dull ache to sharp pains that require medication for relief. Any sharp, intense, or prolonged pain should be reported to a doctor right away.
Pain
The cortical renal cyst may cause pain in several ways. For example, the person suffering from polycystic kidney disease may have pain in her sides or back near the kidneys. This may occur because the cysts force the kidneys to become enlarged. Pain also may occur in the form of headaches, although this symptom may be harder to connect logically with this condition. cortical renal cyst also may induce the formation of kidney stones. While these small stones do not cause pain while they are in the kidneys, they can cause excruciating pain when they begin to pass from the kidneys to the bladder and out of the body, the National Institutes of Health reports.
Infections
The presence of cortical renal cyst also may cause infections, primarily in the kidneys or in the entire urinary tract. The Cleveland Clinic reports that dysuria, or pain while urinating, is the symptom most commonly associated with urinary tract infections. When these bacterial infections occur in the kidneys, they tend to give the person a general feeling of illness known as malaise.