There are several different types of kidney disease, and each of them has the potential to cause permanent kidney damage, often leading to the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant. Some of the most common types of kidney disease include hereditary, systemic, and glomerular. Although research continues, there is currently no cure for kidney disease as of 2011. In some cases, medical treatment can slow the progression of the disease, but dialysis or transplant remain the predominant methods of treatment in severe cases. .
Polycystic kidney disease is an example of a genetic or hereditary disease. It is caused by a faulty gene and causes the kidneys to develop many fluid-filled sacs called cysts. These cysts can eventually reach enough healthy kidney tissue that the kidneys can no longer function on their own. Affected kidneys can grow quite large and cause great amounts of pain.
Systemic kidney disease occurs when the kidneys can no longer function properly due to other medical conditions such as diabetes or lupus. Keeping these conditions under control can often slow the progression of kidney function loss. Unfortunately, loss of kidney function usually cannot be recovered once it occurs. For this reason, proper health management is extremely important.
When there is damage to the small blood vessels within the kidneys, glomerular kidney disease occurs. The first sign of this type of disease is often an abnormal amount of protein in the urine. This can be detected by a routine urine test, especially if no other symptoms are present. Patients with this type of condition frequently report blood in the urine, even in the absence of any type of infection.
Treatment for severe kidney disease usually involves dialysis or a transplant. Dialysis is a medical procedure in which blood is removed from the body, filtered through a dialysis machine for cleaning, and sent back to the body. This process often has to be repeated several times a week for the life of the patient unless a kidney transplant is performed. A kidney transplant is a type of surgery in which a healthy kidney is removed from an organ donor or a living donor and placed in the patient's body. When this occurs, medications must be taken daily to reduce the chances of the patient's body rejecting the transplanted organ.