What Is The Difference Between Kidney Cyst And PKD

2015-01-22 02:55

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is not common clinically and most patients do not really know about this disease so they are apt to confuse PKD and kidney cyst. PKD and kidney cyst are two different diseases. The basis of treating these diseases correctly is to have a thorough understanding of PKD and kidney cyst. The following analyzes the differences of these two diseases.

Patients suffer from kidney cyst, which refers that there are variable sizes of mass in the kidneys. Kidney cyst includes adult renal cyst, simple kidney cyst and acquired cystic kidney disease.

However, PKD is a genetic kidney disease which is characterized by many cysts in both kidneys. With the enlargement of kidney cysts, they will cause damages on kidney structure and kidney function. Medically, according to different mode of inheritance, PKD can be classified into autosomal dominant familial polycystic kidney and recessive polycystic kidney disease.

PKD and kidney cyst have the following specific differences:

1. different damage to the kidneys

Generally kidney cyst does not harm kidneys. Only when cysts become enlarged and infected can do damages on kidneys. However, if PKD does not get timely control, it will impair kidney internal structure and kidney function. Besides, it can affect digestive tract, central nervous system and genital system.

2. different symptoms

Most kidney cyst patients do not have obvious symptoms. When cysts get infected, patients will experience abdominal pain, hematuria and proteinuria. While PKD patients will have obvious hematuria, proteinuria and high blood pressure, etc.

3. different cause 

These is no affirmative answer to whether kidney cyst is genetic but there is no doubt about PKD which is a genetic disease.

The difference between kidney cyst and PKD is very obvious. Therefore, faced with these diseases, you should analyze them correctly and take relative treatment.

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