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MediFocus Guides Help Answer Key Questions about Polycystic Kidney Disease:
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What are the standard treatments for Polycystic Kidney Disease?
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What are your treatment options?
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Are there any promising new and effective treatments on the horizon?
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Where can you find the doctors, hospitals, and medical centers with specialized interest and expertise in Polycystic Kidney Disease?
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Which organizations and support groups can help you cope more effectively with Polycystic Kidney Disease?
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Medifocus Guidebook:
Polycystic Kidney Disease
Updated: December 23, 2008
101 Pages
- Comprehensive overview of
Polycystic Kidney Disease
- Explore your treatment options
- Learn about new developments
- Read medical journal abstracts
- Find doctors, hospitals, research centers
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Introduction
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a hereditary disorder that causes fluid-filled cysts to form in the nephrons of the kidneys. These cysts can grow so large and so numerous that they crowd out the normal kidney tissue, rendering the kidneys unable to function normally. Damage to the kidneys is caused by structural deformities caused by the enlarging cysts as well as by elevations in blood pressure (hypertension). Cysts can also form in other organs such as the liver.
PKD affects approximately 600,000 persons in the United States. It is one of the most common hereditary diseases and the fourth leading cause of kidney failure. It seems to affect all races and both genders equally.
Persons with autosomal dominant PKD often exhibit no symptoms and the disease can not be diagnosed by routine blood work in its early stages. Therefore, persons may have the disease for years before it is diagnosed.
Currently, there is no known cure for PKD. The objectives of treatment are to better control symptoms, prevent complications, preserve quality of life, and prolong survival. Medications can be used to control pain, reduce blood pressure (hypertension) and treat urinary tract infections. Approximately 50% of PKD patients will eventually require renal dialysis to compensate for reduced kidney function. Kidney transplantation may be considered as a treatment option for patients with advanced PKD.
The MediFocus Guidebook on Polycystic Kidney Disease contains information that is vital to anyone who has been diagnosed with this condition.
You will learn about the causes, risk factors, common signs and symptoms, medical tests that are used to establish the diagnosis, and standard treatments. You will also learn about the latest clinical advances in the management of Polycystic Kidney Disease as well as about the newest treatment options that are available.
The MediFocus Guidebook on Polycystic Kidney Disease will also inform you about important new, exciting research in the area of Polycystic Kidney Disease. You will also learn about the doctors, hospitals, and medical centers that are at the leading edge in conducting clinical research about Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Information about clinical trials, quality of life issues, a list of questions to ask your doctor, and a useful directory of organizations and support groups that can help patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease complete this valuable Guidebook.
You won't find this combination of information anywhere else. It is easily accessible right here. We invite you to preview the MediFocus Guidebook on Polycystic Kidney Disease so that you can decide if this comprehensive, trustworthy information may help you or someone you care about who has been diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease.
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