What is Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)
The Facts
Kate has a disease called Polycystic kidney disease (PKD). It's a condition in which clusters of cysts grow in the body, mainly in the kidneys. Over time, the cysts may cause the kidneys to get bigger and stop working. PKD is most often passed through families.
This is called an inherited condition.
Cysts are round sacs with fluid in them. They are not cancer. In PKD, the cysts vary in size. They can grow very large. Having many cysts or large cysts can damage the kidneys.
Polycystic kidney disease also can cause cysts to grow in the liver, the pancreas and other places in the body.
The disease can cause serious complications, including high blood pressure and kidney failure.
Rapid progressors like Kate reach kidney failure and need a transplant. There are 5 types of progression. Levels (1-3) can live relatively normal lives. But rapid progressors like Kate (4-5) rely on dialysis and transplants to extend life.
ItS genetic
Gene changes cause polycystic kidney disease.
Most often, the condition runs in families. Sometimes, a gene change happens on its own in a child. This is known as a spontaneous gene change. Then neither parent has a copy of the changed gene.
There are two main types of polycystic kidney disease. They're caused by different gene changes. The two types of PKD are:
- Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). This is the most common type of ongoing kidney disease that's passed through families, also called inherited. Symptoms of ADPKD often start between the ages of 30 and 40.
Only one parent needs to have the condition to pass it to the children. If one parent has ADPKD, each child has a 50% chance of getting the condition. This is the more common type of polycystic kidney disease.
- Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). This type is far less common than is ADPKD. The symptoms often appear soon after birth. Sometimes, symptoms don't appear until later in childhood or during the teen years.
Both parents must have gene changes to pass on this form of the condition. If both parents carry a changed gene, each child has a 25% chance of getting the condition.