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Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is one common hereditary renal disorder which is characterized by numerous cysts in bilateral kidneys. If not treated, these renal cysts will experience progressive increase and growth and in the end alter renal structure and damage renal function resulting in end stage renal failure.
Most PKD patients can have normal kidney functions until 40-60 years old and the early sign indicating damages of kidney functions is decline of renal concentrating function since tubular damages are earlier than glomerular damages in PKD. Once kidney functions begin to decrease, the average decline rate of glomerular filtration rate is about 4.4-5.5ml/min per year and it takes about 10 years to progression into end stage renal disease.
Since the root cause of renal failure in PKD is continuous enlarged and increased renal cysts, the key point to prevent polycystic kidney disease from developing into renal failure is to stop or slow down their growth rate and try to preserve as many kidney functions as possible.
Surgery
Surgery can remove large cysts and achieve immediate and obvious clinical relief. However this can not reverse renal damages or slow down illness progression because more cystic fluid will continue to be secreted and the removal of large cysts will provide more spaces for smaller cysts to experience rapider growth. What is worse, surgery is another trauma to the kidneys and since the kidneys are fully filled with cysts, there is also some risk to operate the surgery.
Conservative remedy
Compared with surgery, conservative remedies such as medicines and diet therap are all natural and conservative remedies and they are more suitable for those whose illness conditions are so advanced to require dialysis and kidney transplant. And for those that have begun dialysis or received kidney transplant, they can also be used as adjuvant therapy to help relieve side effects and enhance curative effects.
There are many natural herbal medicines that are benefit to PKD patients to help them alleviate symptoms and protect kidney functions.
Celery and parsley can be used as natural diuretics to decrease uric acid;
Cranberry and barberry have the functions of antibiotic and preventing renal inflammations; barberry also can helo improve immune functions;
Dandelion root can increase renal filtration functions to excrete more waste products out of the body.
At last I want to say that the main cause of death in PKD is not renal failure but cardiovascular complications followed by infections, therefore early preventions and timely treatments are very important.
