NAU Project for PKD

1. Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic
disease that commonly affects the
kidneys (Igarashi & Somlo, 2007, p. 1371).
The disease causes
random formation
of multiple cysts on
the kidneys. The
cysts can migrate to
surrounding organs,
such as liver and
pancreas. The cause
of the disease is a
mutation of proteins
in either polycystin-1, 2
or fibrocystin. Polycystic
kidney disease can either be an autosomal
dominant trait or autosomal recessive
trait. Autosomal dominant polycystic kid-
ney disease (ADPKD) is more common
and remains dormant
until later in life. Auto-
somal recessive polycys-
tic kidney disease
(ARPKD) severely af-
fects newborns, whom
mostly do not live past
childhood. Polycystic
disease eventually leads
to chronic kidney dis-
ease, (CKD) which then
leads to end-stage renal
disease (ESRD).
PKD is believed to equally
affect men and women of
all ethnicities. Some studies show that the disease may occur more often in Caucasian people
than in African Americans. In females more often than males.
PKD is the number 4 cause of kidney failure in Americans. Approximately 600,000 people in the
U.S. currently have it. (DaVita Inc., 2019)
Normal Kidney vs. Polycystic Kid-
neys ("Polycystic Kidneys," n.d.)
What is the Disease?
S I G N S &
S Y M P T O M S
 Flank Pain
 Blood in
urine
 Kidney
Stones
 Fatigue
 Joint Pain
 Urinary Tract
Infection
(UTI)
 Pain in the
Back
 Nail abnor-
malities
 Frequent
Urination
(Phillips, 2018)
What Are the Risk Factors?
H S - 3 0 0 H U M A N
D I S E A S E S F A L L 2 0 1 9
Polycystic Kidney Disease
Christina E. Santiago
N O R T H E R N A R I Z O N A U N I V E R S I T Y
F A C T S H E E T
P R E V A L E N C E
( S T A T S )
• Affects about
500,000 people in
the U.S.
• ADPKD is more
common than
ARPKD
• ADPKD affects 1
in 500-1,000
people
• ARPKD affects 1
in 20,000-40,000
people
("Polycystic Kidney,"
2019)
Who Does the Disease Affect?
 PKD 1 genotype
 Large Kidneys
 Multiple episodes of blood in urine
 Frequent kidney infections which are severe
 High blood pressure
 Multiple pregnancies (Torra, 2018)
The disease can remain dormant for years
before ever expressing symptoms occurs.
An individual can have no prior family history
in order to have the gene. However, the pres-
ence of more than one risk factor increases the
risk of progression to end-stage renal disease
(ESRD).

2. WHAT HAPPENS IF
NOT TREATED?
How Is PKD Treated?
P A G E 2N O R T H E R N A R I Z O N A
Polycystic kidney disease
can eventually cause
the kidneys to fail. Patients
with kidney failure must have
dialysis or a kidney transplant
to replace their kidney func-
tion. There is two forms of
dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis
and hemodialysis.
Peritoneal dialysis uses the
lining between abdomen and
organs to filter blood inside
the body.
Hemodialysis uses
a machine as a filter to circu-
late your blood outside the
body.
A kidney transplant is invasive
surgery to replace a diseased
kidney using a donor (U.S. De-
partment of Health and Human
Services, 2019).
DaVita Inc. (2019). Polycystic Kidney Disease. Retrieved December 5, 2019, from DaVita Kidney Care website: https://
www.davita.com/education/kidney-disease/related-diseases/polycystic-kidney-disease
Haemodialysis [Image]. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/kidney-disease-treatment
Igarashi, P., & Somlo, S. (2007). Polycystic Kidney Disease. American Society of Nephrology, 18, 1371-1373. https://
doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2007030299
Peritoneal dialysis [Image]. (2019). Retrieved from https://media.healthdirect.org.au/images/inline/original/peritoneal-
dialysis-illustration-a1494f.jpg
Phillips, N. (2018, February 23). Polycystic Kidney Disease. Retrieved December 5, 2019, from healthline website: https://
www.healthline.com/health/polycystic-kidney-disease#symptoms
Polycystic kidney disease. (2019, November 26). Retrieved December 5, 2019, from U.S. National Library of Medicine
website: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/polycystic-kidney-disease#statistics
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD). (2015). Retrieved December 5, 2019, from CuraScript SD website: https://curascriptsd.com/
Newsroom/polycystic-kidney-disease-pkd
Polycystic kidneys vs. normal kidneys. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2019, from Google website: https://images.app.goo.gl/
Z19tDbeW3ufSqZPC9
Torra, R. (2018, April 26). Polycystic Kidney Disease (V. Batuman, Ed.). Retrieved December 5, 2019, from Medscape
website: https://www.medscape.com/answers/244907-71157/what-are-the-risk-factors-for-progression-of-
autosomal-dominant-polycystic-kidney-disease-adpkd
University of California San Francisco. (2019). Retrieved December 5, 2019, from PKD Foundation Polycystic Kidney
Disease website: https://pkdcure.org/blog/medical_center/ucsf-nephrology/
University of California San Francisco
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Retrieved December
5, 2019, from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website: https://
www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/polycystic-kidney-disease/autosomal-dominant-pkd
If you live in California and are looking for more information contact:
Univeristy of California San Francisco
400 Parnassus Ave, Plaza Level B1, San Francisco, CA 94143
phone (415) 353-2507 Email: pkdcure@pkdcure.org
You can also view more information on the website:
https://pkdcure.org/blog/medical_center/ucsf-nephrology/
("University of California," 2019).
(Peritoneal Dialysis, 2019)
You or Someone You Know Need Help?
References
If left untreated
PKD can lead to
comaordeath
("Polycystic Kidney,"
2015) .
(Haemodialysis, 2019)