Treatment
Although a cure for PKD is not available, treatment can ease the symptoms and prolong life.
- Pain: Over-the-counter pain medications, such as paracetamol (acetaminophen) can relieve pain. For most but not all cases of severe pain, surgery to shrink cysts can relieve pain in the back and flanks. However, surgery provides only temporary relief and usually does not slow the disease's progression toward kidney failure.
- Urinary tract infections: Patients with PKD tend to have frequent urinary tract infections, which can be treated with antibiotics. Early treatment is important, because infection can spread from the urinary tract to the cysts in the kidneys. Cyst infections are difficult to treat because many antibiotics do not penetrate into the cysts. However, some antibiotics are effective.
- High blood pressure: Keeping blood pressure under control can slow the effects of PKD. Lifestyle changes including low salt diet and various medications especially ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers can lower high blood pressure. Recommended target BP in these patients is 130/80 mm Hg or lower.
- Chronic Kidney Disease Progression: A very exciting new development in ADPKD treatment involves the use of Tolvaptan, a selective vasopressin antagonist, and research shows that this compound may limit cyst growth, reduce symptoms and most importantly, delay the progression of chronic kidney disease.
- End-stage renal disease: There are two options for replacing kidney functions: dialysis or transplantation. Healthy (non-PKD) kidneys transplanted into PKD patients do not develop cysts.
Read more about this topic: Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrongdoing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly, I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion. I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art.”
—Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 B.C.)
“I feel that any form of so called psychotherapy is strongly contraindicated for addicts.... The question “Why did you start using narcotics in the first place?” should never be asked. It is quite as irrelevant to treatment as it would be to ask a malarial patient why he went to a malarial area.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“The treatment of the incident of the assault upon the sailors of the Baltimore is so conciliatory and friendly that I am of the opinion that there is a good prospect that the differences growing out of that serious affair can now be adjusted upon terms satisfactory to this Government by the usual methods and without special powers from Congress.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)