Can End Stage Kidney Disease Be Cured?

When the kidneys have permanently stopped functioning because of disease or trauma, it is called end stage renal disease. There are very few treatments for end stage kidney disease, and there are no sure cures, so it is critical to diagnose kidney disease as early as possible and pursue treatment to prevent renal failure.

Definition

• The kidneys filter blood to remove wastes and excess fluid. They also regulate blood pressure and produce hormones responsible for stimulating red blood cell production and maintaining a normal calcium balance for the bones. Failure of the kidneys, therefore, has catastrophic results. There are two types of renal failure that can progress to end stage renal disease: acute and chronic.

Renal Failure

• Acute renal failure happens suddenly, most commonly as a result of a heart attack, blood loss, a blockage in the urinary tract, inflammation or infection. Chronic renal failure occurs when diseases harm the kidney and they lose proper function over a longer period of time. The primary causes of chronic renal failure are diabetes and high blood pressure. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of end stage renal disease. Other causes include inherited disorders, inflammation, lupus and a prolonged urinary tract infection. There is one big difference between the two types of kidney failure: Acute kidney failure might be cured, while the chronic type has a high chance of progressing to end stage renal disease.

End Stage Renal Disease

• Once your kidneys have become so damaged that they can no longer function, they have reached end stage renal disease. At this stage, one treatment option is dialysis. The second option is a kidney transplant. Even though these treatments can replace the functions of the kidneys, end stage renal disease can result in other health problems including anemia, high blood pressure and bone disease.

Dialysis

• Dialysis uses artificial means to temporarily rid the body of of waste products and maintain the proper balance of chemicals. Two types of dialysis are hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis uses a surgically implanted tube to insert fluid into the abdomen that absorbs wastes and is then drained. Hemodialysis uses an intravenous catheter connected to a machine that drains blood, removes wastes, and then returns the blood to the body. Dialysis helps you live longer, but it is not a cure for end stage kidney disease.

Kidney Transplant

• The closest thing to a cure for end stage renal disease is a kidney transplant, which is when the diseased kidney is surgically replaced with a donor kidney. One healthy donated kidney is enough to replace two failed kidneys, allowing the recipient to regain health and return to more normal activities. One huge drawback to a kidney transplant is that there is a shortage of donor kidneys available. If you get a transplanted kidney, there is the risk that your body will reject the new organ, so you will have to stay on medication to suppress your immune system. Even with the medication, the kidney may still be rejected. The medication itself carries side effects, too.