Library · Disease
Polycystic kidney disease
Make it clearer
Polycystic kidney disease is genetic, and it fills the kidneys with cysts, closed sacs full of fluid, not just a few but many. It isn't the same as having a single simple kidney cyst, or the cysts that show up once someone already has advanced kidney disease; here the cause is written in from the start.
As those cysts grow they enlarge and distort the kidney, pushing aside the tissue that actually does the work, like empty boxes piling up in a warehouse until there's no room left for what was really being stored there. That's why kidney function, the kidney's ability to do its job, falls off little by little. It's inherited in two main ways: the autosomal dominant form, usually picked up in adulthood, and the recessive form, which appears earlier, though the ages vary.
In brief
Polycystic kidney disease is genetic and causes many fluid-filled cysts; it is not the same as a simple kidney cyst or the cysts that develop in advanced kidney disease.
As the cysts grow, they can enlarge and distort the kidneys, crowd out working tissue, and gradually reduce kidney function.
The disease has two main inherited forms: the autosomal dominant form is usually detected in adults, while the autosomal recessive form appears earlier, though the ages vary.
Sources (2)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesWhat Is Polycystic Kidney Disease?Published
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesAcquired Cystic Kidney Disease
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated