Polycystic kidney disease is hereditary?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - Endocrinologist - Dialysis - Kidney Transplant - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital. The doctor has more than 15 years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of medical kidney disease, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, pre-transplant screening and post-transplant follow-up.
Polycystic kidney disease is an inherited disease that can lead to end-stage kidney failure, which is life-threatening. It is important to understand the genetics of polycystic kidney disease, its symptoms, and how to prevent its dangerous complications.

1. Heredity of polycystic kidney disease

Polycystic kidney disease is a condition in which there are many cysts in the kidney that cause the kidneys to enlarge. These are abnormal cysts with fluid inside, which are different from normal cysts. Polycystic kidney disease affects the function of the kidneys, which can lead to chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal failure.

Polycystic kidney disease is an inherited disease, divided into 2 types: recessive inheritance and dominant inheritance
Recessive polycystic kidney disease: common in adolescence dominant trait: common in middle age Very few cases of polycystic kidney disease onset in childhood. If someone in the family has polycystic kidney disease, the rest of the family members need to go to the hospital to be checked.
Polycystic kidney disease not only affects kidney function but also can spread to other parts of the body such as pancreas, spleen, ureter, esophagus... and lead to dangerous complications.

2. Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Cysts can appear on both sides of the kidney. In many cases, patients often do not have obvious symptoms, until the disease is advanced, there are specific signs. Therefore, patients often discover the disease incidentally through ultrasound or periodic physical examination.
The most recognizable symptoms of polycystic kidney disease include:
Abnormally large abdomen due to change in kidney size: The appearance of water cysts causes the kidney to become deformed, the cyst gradually enlarges, the kidney enlarges according to the size of the kidney. . Each kidney can grow to 7 - 8 kg. The process of increasing the size of the kidney can take up to ten years. Abdominal pain, back pain or side pain: About 20-30% of patients with polycystic kidney disease have abdominal pain, or pain in the back, dull pain, abdominal pain. The bigger the cyst, the more intense the pain. Acute pain can be caused by bleeding in the cyst, cyst infection or obstruction of the urinary tract by blood clot... Frequent urination Blood in urine: 30 - 50% of polycystic kidney patients have had little Blood in urine at least 1 time. Hematuria due to bleeding in the cyst, often occurs after trauma, impact, even minor trauma. There are also cases where hematuria occurs randomly. The larger the kidney, the larger the cyst, the greater the risk of hematuria. Headache, fever in case of cyst infection Urinary tract infection or kidney infection: Urinary disorders, painful urination, frequent urination... Kidney stones Kidney failure.

3. Complications of polycystic kidney disease

A common complication of polycystic kidney disease is high blood pressure. High blood pressure is dangerous, increases the risk of heart disease and leads to stroke.
Polycystic kidney disease, if not treated in time, can cause loss of kidney function. The kidney's ability to filter blood and remove waste products from the body gradually weakens, causing an imbalance of body fluids and electrolytes. Patients may develop uremia, leading to kidney failure.
Polycystic kidney can stimulate the growth of cysts in the liver. The older a patient is, the more likely they are to develop liver cysts.
People with polycystic kidney disease need to be screened for brain aneurysms, especially in people before age 50, people with high blood pressure or a family history of aneurysms. Brain aneurysms have the potential to burst at any time, causing cerebral hemorrhage.
25% of adults with polycystic kidney disease may have mitral valve disease. Abnormalities in the heart valves cause the valve's function to be affected, the valve does not close properly, the blood can back up, threatening the patient's life.
Pregnant women with polycystic kidney disease may develop complications with preeclampsia.

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