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Facts on Polycystic Kidney Disease

PKD, or polycystic kidney disease, is an inherited condition that causes painful cysts in your kidneys. About 50 percent of patients with the condition will experience kidney failure and will require a transplant.

  1. Types

    • There are two types of PKD, although both are inherited forms. The first is known as autosomal dominant, which occurs in nearly 90 percent of all patients. The other is autosomal recessive.

    Age Range

    • With the dominant form of PKD, symptoms appear when the individual is 30 to 40 years old. In the recessive form, symptoms appear early on and can present before a child is born.

    Genetics

    • People with PKD have a higher-than-average risk of passing the disease on to their children. Doctors estimate that 50 percent of parents with PKD will have children with the same disease.

    Cysts

    • Cysts are the main symptom of PKD. These fluid-filled sacs attach to the walls of your kidney and prevent it from working properly. There can be more than 1,000 cysts in a patient's kidney.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of polycystic kidney disease include high blood pressure, pain in the back, pain in the sides and headache. The pain can be fairly mild or quite extreme.

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