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Polycystic kidney disease

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited disease that replaces normal kidney tissue with fluid-filled cysts. As a result, over a 30- to 40-year period, the kidney stops working.

While most cases of PKD are passed down through families, it may also develop from chronic kidney disease and occurs most often in people with kidney failure who have been on dialysis for a long time.

Symptoms of polycystic kidney disease include back and side pain, headache, urinary tract infections, and blood in the urine (hematuria).

There is no cure for PKD. Treatment includes antibiotics, medications and surgery to control pain, and dialysis or kidney transplant to treat kidney failure.

Author Jeannette Curtis
Editor Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor Pat Truman
Primary Medical Reviewer E. Gregory Thompson, MD
- Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer D.C. Mendelssohn, MD, FRCPC
- Nephrology
Last Updated November 13, 2007

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: November 13, 2007
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