Does PKD Skip A Generation

2014-08-11 08:00

PKD is a genetic kidney problem which means children run a certain risk to suffer from this problem if one or two their parents are PKD patients. PKD is a hereditary illness, but is it possible for it to skip a generation? PKD is the abbreviation of Polycystic Kidney Disease and in medicine, it is divided into two types: ADPKD and ARPKD. Both these two types of PKD are genetic, but one of them can skip a generation, and another can not.

ARPKD can skip a generation

ARPKD (Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease) is much rarer than ADPKD in medicine and it can skip a generation. ARPKD is usually found in infant, so it is also called Infantile Polycystic Kidney Disease. Infants with ARPKD usually die of kidney failure and seldom of them can live to childhood or adult.

ADPKD can not skip a generation

ADPKD (Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease) can not skip a generation. For a child with one parent living with ADPKD, he or she has 50% chance to develop PKD, but for these who have two parents suffering from ADPKD, they run 75% risk to face this problem.

Compared with ARPKD, ADPKD progressives slowly and it usually presents when patients are in their 20-30. People with ADPKD always experience more and more symptoms with the progression of illness and the most common complains are enlargement of kidney, kidney pain, blood urine, high blood pressure, abdominal enlargement, tiredness and poor appetite and so on.

Besides, PKD is a genetic kidney problem, but it does not mean people who have no relatives living with PKD will never develop this illness. In about 10% of the cases of PKD, patients have no PKD relatives at all.

Lastly, for ADPKD patients, if they stop enlargement of kidney cyst and meanwhile take measures to protect kidney function, it is quite possible for them to avoid ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) and dialysis, and usually, the earlier they receive treatment, the better the treatment effects. Therefore, after the diagnosis, taking treatment as soon as possible is very important.

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