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Polycystic Kidney Disease, An Overview

Polycystic kidney disease (also called PKD) is a disease in which clusters of cysts develop and grow primarily within your kidneys. This causes the kidney to enlarge and lose function. The cysts are noncancerous round sacs filled with fluid. The cysts vary in size and they can grow very large. The kidneys can become damaged, if too many cysts grow or if they get too big. Cysts can slowly replace much of the kidneys which reduces kidney function and leads to kidney failure. Polycystic kidney disease also can cause cysts to develop in your liver and elsewhere in your body. The disease can cause serious complications, including high blood pressure and kidney failure.

There are 3 major types of PKD:

Symptoms

Polycystic kidney disease symptoms can include

Treatment

At present, there is no cure for PKD. However, recent studies suggest that drinking plain water throughout the day and avoiding caffeine in beverages can slow the growth of cysts. Many supportive treatments can be done to control symptoms and help slow the growth of cysts.

These include:

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