Case Study: Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, also known as ADPKD, is the most commonly inherited kidney disease with over 400,000 US cases per year, Usually an adult-onset disease, ADPKD occurs in individuals and families of different races equally, all over the world. ADPKD causes numerous fluid filled cysts to form in both of the kidneys. As it progresses, the cysts slowly replace most of the normal mass of the kidneys. When this occurs, the cysts often reduce kidney function, which can lead to failure. In most cases, ADPKD takes several years before it causes the kidneys to fail. When this happens, the patient will require either dialysis or a kidney transplant. Around one half of all the people diagnosed with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic …show more content…
When the kidneys become diseased and lose their ability to filter, the fluid and waste will accumulate and build up to dangerous levels, causing end-stage kidney disease. If a patient reaches end-stage kidney disease, the best option is receiving a kidney transplant. Due to the fact that one donated kidney can replace two failing ones, people with end-stage kidney disease can receive a compatible kidney from a live donor. If there is no live donor compatible, the patient may be put on a list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor, however the wait may take several years. Just like any surgery, there are risks involved with kidney transplantation. The complications associated with receiving a transplant are fairly significant and in some cases, may cause more harm than good. Some of the more minor complications include bleeding, blood clots, blockage or leakage of the ureter, and infection. Much more serious and life threatening complications are an undetected infection or cancer in the donated kidney, failure of the donated kidney and the body rejecting the donated kidney. In order to lower the chance of the body rejecting the new kidney, recipients of a transplant are required to take anti-rejection medication. For the remainder of the recipient 's life, they are also required to take immunosuppressants to stop the immune system from attacking the donated kidney, as it is seen a foreign …show more content…
As an adult onset disease, people with ADPKD do not start experiencing symptoms until 30 to 40 years of age, regardless of having the disease since birth. Polycystic Kidney Disease may also be autosomal recessive, although ARPKD is relatively rare, and mainly affects infants, carrying a high mortality rate within the first month of life. ADPKD currently has no cure, however, there are many options for treatment such as dialysis, or in cases of more severity, a kidney