Causes of Bilateral Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of hereditary Kidney Disease with great damage, and frequently related to bilateral kidneys. Besides hereditary factors, there are still some other factors that can cause Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Epithelial cells of renal tubule and cells on cyst wall can be changed by cyst gene, which can cause the following results:

Ⅰ. Cyst gene can affect Na-K-ATPase of tubule epithelial cells, which can increase inner fluid of renal tubule and make cells on cyst wall secrete fluid.
Ⅱ. Epithelial cells of renal tubule proliferate continuously, forming polypoid lesion which can cause renal tubule obstruction, and the obstruction can lead to fluid retention which can bulge tubule, and then cysts form.

Ⅲ. Infections and toxin can act on renal tubule, which can activate cyst gene and change tubule cells metabolism, or even cause epithelial cells apoptosis. Apoptosis cells can also lead to obstruction after they slough off.

Ⅳ.Epithelial cells can secrete series of bioactive substances which can increase cyst fluid secretion.

Ⅴ. Cyst gene can lead to abnormal Extracellular Matrix and change the condition of basement membrane and tubule wall, which can provide a favorable environment for cyst growth.

Micro-Chinese Medicine is a distinctive Chinese Medicine Treatment, which can treat the disease from its primary cause, namely Renal Fibrosis. It mainly treats this disease by the following methods.

Firstly, Micro-Chinese Medicine takes the medication way of micronized Chinese Medicine combined with external osmosis on renal area. Smashing and decoction are adopted in the process of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment. While our hospital takes high-technology to micronize medicine into more refined powder.
Through this method, medicine can be absorbed easily. Besides, active substances of Chinese Medicine can be sent into renal lesion directly by the method of external osmosis on renal area, which can get a higher medicine utilization rate.


Secondly, mainly depending on Micro-Chinese Medicine and puting Western Medicine in a supportive role is the treatment principle that our hospital insists. As for PKD patients who suffer from Hypertension and Anemia, they need take Western Medicine to control their symptoms in order to make Micro-Chinese Medicine play a more effective role in recovering renal inherent cells and inhibiting secretion of cyst fluid.

Routine Treatment of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of terrible hereditary disease. It causes damage to renal parenchyma, and then renal function abnormality happens. When kidney lost their function of eliminating body wastes, Uremia which is a threat to human life appears due to toxin accumulation in human body.

Many treatments can be used to treat Polycystic Kidney Disease. Among these treatment methods, Western Medicine treatment is an adjutant treatment of operation. As for Western Medicine Treatment, it usually treats the disease starting with treating symptoms. For example, relevant antibiotics are used to deal with Haematuria and complicated infection; hypotensor is taken to reduce High Blood Pressure and related medicines are used to decrease creatinine and urea nitrogen.

Some routine treatments of Polycystic Kidney Disease can be listed as follows:
Firstly, dialysis and Kidney Transplantation. Dialysis, especially Hemodialysis, should be taken timely if illness condition develops into End Stage Renal Failure. Surviving rate of Kidney Transplantation is some equal to other operation, but due to complicated disease, problem of post-operation can be difficult to solve, which can affect operative effect.

Secondly, operation. Operation is a normal treatment of Polycystic Kidney Disease, with the purpose of removing big cysts by surgical operation. With big cysts being removed, more space is left for smaller cysts. When smaller cysts grow up, they can compress kidney again. This treatment method can not recover Polycystic Kidney Disease. What’s more, it brings new injury to patients’ body and spirit. Symptoms of most PKD patients appear again about 6 months after operation, and illness condition can be worse than before with rapid aggravated renal function.

Thirdly, infections that happen to renal parenchyma and inner cyst are main complications of PKD, and combined complication of antibiotic is used to deal with them.


Fourthly, treating High Blood Pressure. Activation of renal ischemia and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is main reason of High Blood Pressure, and hypotensor is taken on this basis.

Treatment for Childhood Polycystic Kidney Disease

Childhood Polycystic Kidney is a kind of children’s hereditary nephropathy. In the past, Childhood Polycystic Kidney patients generally couldn’t survive to adulthood because there is no effective treatment. And many pregnant women terminate pregnancy helplessly if fetus is diagnosed as Childhood Polycystic Kidney patient. Also some pregnant women terminate pregnancy without any hesitation after knowing that they are suffering from Polycystic Kidney Disease, due to heredity of Polycystic Kidney.

General treatment method for Childhood Polycystic Kidney is Puncture operation of Western Medicine. But illness condition is easy to relapse with series of complications after this operation. What's more, it can’t treat disease fundamentally, only treating symptoms instead of disease.

Shijiazhuang Kidney Disease Hospital developed Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy after many years of clinical practice and research. The treatment mechanism is that the progress of kidney fibrosis is blocked by dilating blood vessels, anti-inflammation, anticoagulation, anti-viscosity, degrading fibrosis material and so on. Through this way, impaired renal inherent cells and function can be repaired, and renal structure can be recovered.


The treatment method of Micro Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy in Shijiazhuang Kidney Disease Hospital is promoting blood circulation on cyst wall and improving permeability of cyst wall qualitatively, in order to make sac liquid be reabsorb and reduced continuously, even no longer secrete. Cysts shrink accordingly until to smallest condition with cystic internal pressure reducing, which completely removes cysts’ oppression on normal tissues surrounding kidney. In this way, renal function recovers gradually and symptoms are relieved thoroughly.

Complications of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Bleeding may happen to internal cysts of Polycystic Kidney Disease patients, and patients may feel grievous painful if bleeding happens in a sudden. Bleeding may be caused by complicated cancer on cyst wall. Therefore, besides treating Polycystic Kidney Disease actively, taking proper and timely treatment to cure complications is also important. Main complications of Polycystic Kidney Disease patients can be listed as followed:

Firstly, Kidney Stone and internal kidney calcification: When patients get a stronger pain, colic or gross Haematuria, they may have the possibility of suffering Kidney Stones.

Secondly, urinary tract infection: complications of Polycystic Kidney Disease include cystitis, nephropyelitis, cyst infection and abscess around kidney. If Leukocyte Cylindruria and rapid response to routine anti-inflammatory treatment happen among complications of PKD, it is beneficial to diagnose nephropyelitis. While positive hemoculture and local pressing pain mostly refer to cyst infection. Infectious cysts can be found through CT examination.

Thirdly, cyst cancerization: whether cysts can turn to caner or not is still disputed. If patients suffer from complications of PKD get pain on renal region or Haematuria change, and they have a losing weight and increasing blood deposit as well as anemia not equal to kidney function or globalism, patients should be cautious of complicated renal cancer. At this moment, patients should receive CT examination in time, and renoarteriography can be taken if necessary.

If cysts of PKD patients is located at low position of kidney and very close to ureter, complications of PKD patients can worsen hydronephros. And pressure caused by urine on renal pelvis can cause pain on back. Besides, this can lead to renal infection.


PKD patients should receive effective treatment actively in order to prevent complications happening. Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy has a good therapeutic effect on treating PKD. It avoids liver injury caused by gastrointestinal tract stimulation from oral medicine. During the process of Micro-Chinese Medicine treating OKD, Chinese Medicine can arrive at renal lesion directly and local high medicine concentration can play a more effective role in treating this disease. Through this method, cyst fluid can be recycled more quickly, which can reduce cyst size and cystic pressure on kidney as well as relieve renal injury. Besides, Micro-Chinese Medicine can protect remained healthy nephron and repair renal function gradually. Meanwhile, some Western Medicine can be taken to prevent inflammation, which can offer a beneficial environment for Chinese Medicine to play its function fully. What’s more, Micro-Chinese Medicine has no side effect with less recurrence.

What Is The Standard of PKD Diagnosis

What is the standard of PKD diagnosis? Here is a brief introduction of Adult PKD which refers to autosomal dominant inheritance PKD.

Ⅰ. Familial history.

Ⅱ. Clinical symptoms

Firstly, symptoms of urinary system: most patients do not have symptoms until they get around 40 years old. They can get pain on waist and back or renal colic. Symptoms of Haematuria, upper urinary tract infection and complicated Kidney Stone appear, or even symptoms of Chronic Renal Failure, like headache, nausea, vomiting as well as tiredness and weight loss can be found.

Secondly, symptoms of cardiovascular system: High Blood Pressure usually happens as one of the primary symptoms, complicated with left ventricular hypertrophy, mitral valve prolapse, aortic insufficiency as well as intracranial aneurysm and other diseases.

Thirdly, symptoms of digestive system: 30% to 40% PKD patients accompany with liver cyst and 10% PKD patients get pancreatic cyst. While about 5% patients may have spleen cyst at the same time.

Ⅲ. Body Check

Patients can be found unilateral or bilateral kidneys with nodular condition when touched. Pressing pain can be felt if there is a infection. 50% patients have increased waist size.

Ⅳ. Assistant Test.

Firstly, routine urine test: there is no abnormality in urine test in the early stage of PKD. Microscopic Haematuria can be found in middle and late stage of this disease,and some patients may get Albuminuria. White Blood Cells and pyocyte can be found if there is a complicated Stone or infection.

Secondly, test on urine osmotic pressure: even there is only a few cysts in early stage of pathological change, manifestation of renal concentrated function injury can be found, showing that this change in not related with renal structure damage only, it may be related with renal adverse reaction to anti-diuretic hormone. Under such circumstance, renal concentrated function declines before glomerular filtrating rate decrease.

Thirdly, serum creatinine is increasing with the loss of renal compensatory ability. Creatinine clearance rate is a sensitive index in this condition.
Fourthly, plain film of KUB shows enlarged kidney image with irregular shape.
Fifth, IVP shows deformation of renal pelvis and renal calices caused by cystic pressure. Renal pelvis and renal calices can be in a shape of spider. Renal calices is wide and plain with thin and stretched calices neck.

Sixth, through Type-B Ultrasonic examination, a larger amount of shadow area can be found in kidney region.


Seventh, through CT examination, bilateral kidneys enlargement can be found with thin cysts filled with cyst fluid.

How to Treat Complications of PKD Patients

With cysts growing, PKD patients can get a series of complications which can worsen illness condition further. For this reason, treating complications of PKD is especially important.

PKD is a kind of hereditary disease, with cysts with various sizes spreading the whole kidney. These cysts grow with age, which can compress healthy kidneys and damage renal structure, reducing nephron numbers that can secrete urine. With time going, kidney is so injured that it can not maintain human normal life, and then Uremia appear.

Main complications of PKD are High Blood Pressure, Haematuria, kidney enlargement and urinary tract infection. Waist pain and fever can be found if cysts are bleeding. Patients may get aching pain if Uronephrosis happen, and colic and Haematuria can be found if there is complicated Stone. If effective treatment can not be taken in time, with illness condition worsening, end stage PKD patients can only depend on Dialysis to maintain life.

The root cause of complications of PKD patients is growing cysts, so complications of PKD patients should be treated starting with shrinking cysts. Western Medicine can be taken to treat related symptoms, while Chinese Medicine should be taken to treat this disease from its root which means that inhibiting cysts growing tendency. Chinese Medicine can eliminate activities of cystic epithelial cells and prevent them secreting cyst fluid. Therefore, cysts can stay in this stage and stop growing.

However, we can not let existing cysts stay there forever. So proper medicine should be taken to increase permeability of cyst wall and recycle cyst fluid, excreting these fluids out of body with urine. This is treating cysts from its primary cause. After healing, this disease seldom relapses.


Inhibiting cysts growing and shrinking developed cysts can control this disease effectively. Complications of PKD patients can also be controlled effectively, because root cause—cysts, is removed.

Case Analysis of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Patient: Zhou Huadie
Gender: female
Age：54
Province: Henan Province
Main cause: patient got tiredness and pain on abdomen for 4 months.
Diagnosis: Polycystic Kidney Disease ,Chronic Renal Insufficiency Decompensatory Period

Hospitalization: April, 2008

Patient’s illness condition when she went to our hospital: high blood pressure, blood routine test shows normally, light acidosis, serum creatinine 445umol/L, BUN12.9mmol/L，routine urine test shows: PRO(+)BUN(+), Urine Protein Content: 0.29g/24h, bilateral abdomen swelling and painful sometimes.;Type-B Ultrasonic result: left kidney 19.0*7.3cm, right kidney 20.5*6cm.

Treatment: Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy was taken after patient hospitalized.

Re-examination result after patient received Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy: serum creatinine: 155umol/L，BUN11.2mmol/L，routine urine test: PRO(-)BUN(-), Urine Protein Content: 0.16g/24h, B ultrasound shows: left kidney 14.1*6.0cm, right kidney14.8*5.5 cm. Size of bilateral kidneys reduce obviously; patient is full of vitality, and abdominal pain seldom happens.


Expert Comment: Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of autosomal dominant hereditary disease. Either of parents suffer from PKD, each of their children may get this disease at a risk of 50% Generally, disease develops quickly after patients get to 40 years old. Main symptoms, like high Blood pressure, occult blood and protein in urine, abdominal pain, with masses or abdominal distention, appear. Patients with kidney damage can have a high serum creatinine. Patients who suffer from serious illness condition have symptoms of nausea, vomiting. If patients' illness condition can not be controlled well, it will develop into Uremia. Micro-Chinese Medicine can improve blood circulation, and absorb cyst fluid and excrete fluid out of body with urine, which can shrink cyst, relieve the cystic pressure on normal renal tissues and improve renal ability of excreting toxin. Then toxin in body can be decreased and patients can get rid of dialysis.

Diet Principle for Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients in Spring

Spring is a season with more wind and extreme dry weather. In this time, patients should pay high attention on diet in order to avoid worsening illness condition or cause recurrence. In spring, the following points should be noted to PKD patients.

Polluted food is easy to cause gastrointestinal disease or even poisoning which can threaten life. Therefore, patients should pay more attention on food cleanness, trying to avoid eating food outside, especially food of street stalls.
Meal amount is also limited for PKD patients. For example, if patients eat too less, they can suffer from malnutrition, while too much food intake can be easily damage digestive function of spleen and stomach, causing obstruction in blood and Qi. Therefore, patients should have a proper diet in order to keep necessary energy and nutrition.

PKD patients should have a diet with low salt and low fat. Spicy food, beef, mutton and animal viscera should be avoided. More fresh vegetable and fruits are beneficial for patients’ health. Patients should check their renal function regularly in order to prevent renal injury.

PKD patients should avoid cold and uncooked food which can injure Yang. Patients should take a proper diet according to their illness condition.

Basically, PKD patients should have a light diet with low protein. Besides, water intake should also be limited in order to prevent night urine retention.


Besides diet, PKD patients should also have a proper rest and avoid tiredness.

Complications of Adult Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of hereditary Kidney Disease. Once cysts grow bigger, they will compress kidneys and lead to damage to kidneys, causing a series of complications.

Firstly, Nephropyelitis: it is a common complication of Polycystic Kidney Disease. Patients may have no symptoms sometimes, and there is very little or even no pyocyte in urine.

Secondly, cyst infection: it can cause pain and pressing pain on kidney region. Patients may also have symptoms of fever.

Thirdly, Haematuria: seldom cases can have symptom of active and continuous gross Haematuria which may threaten patients’ life.

Prognosis and prevention of Adult Polycystic Kidney Disease: patients who get clinical symptoms of PKD at 35 to 40 years old can have a relative better prognosis.


Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy can treat PKD effectively through dilating blood vessel, activating renal blood circulation and protect remained healthy nephron. Active substances of Chinese Medicine can arrive at renal lesion directly, which can make medicine play maximum function. Then injured kidney can be repaired and renal function can be recovered gradually.

Pathogenesis of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of hereditary Kidney Disease that many cysts grow in renal cortex and renal medulla, with characteristic of familial aggregation. So many reasons can cause Polycystic Kidney Disease, including congenital hereditary factors and acquired factors.

Ⅰ. Congenital factors of Polycystic Kidney Disease:

Firstly, congenital dysplasia is one of the causes of Polycystic Kidney Disease. Congenital dysplasia can cause many diseases. As for cystic Kidney Disease, it may cause sponge kidney, dysplasia Polycystic Kidney Disease and other Kidney Diseases. Gene of congenital dysplasia patients is generally normal. So it is different from gene inheritance and gene mutation.

Secondly, gene mutation: as for Polycystic Kidney Disease, most patients are inherited this disease from their parents gene, divided into Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease and Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease. However, some patients get PKD neither from inheritance nor from congenital dysplasia. They get the disease due to gene mutation in embryo forming stage. During this stage, due to various factors, gene mutation happens, causing Polycystic Kidney Disease. Through this condition seldom happens, it still has the possibility. Therefore, some PKD patients may not have hereditary history.

Ⅱ. Acquired factors of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Firstly, various infections: infections can cause abnormal change to organ internal environment, which is beneficial for cystic gene mutation to happen. Then activity of cysts internal factors increases, promoting cysts formation. Besides, infections on any part of body can get into kidney with blood, affecting cysts growth. If cysts were infected, besides clinical symptoms aggravation, it can speed up cysts growing rate and damage renal function further. Common infections include upper respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infection, gastrointestinal infection, skin infection, trauma infection and apparatus infection, etc. it means that both bacterial infection and virus infection can affect cysts greatly.

Secondly, toxin: toxin accumulated in body can damage various cellular organic tissue, resulting in disease happening or even threat to life. Besides, toxin is also one of the main reasons of gene mutation and congenital dysplasia. Some common toxins include agricultural chemicals, some chemical agents, radiation as well as pollution and so on. In addition, some medicines are nephrotoxic. These medicines can cause renal injury if they are used improperly.


Because Polycystic Kidney Disease is the interaction of congenital and acquired factors, we can control acquired factors actively on the condition that congenital factors can not be changed. Patients should pay more attention on daily living regulation and diet in order to prevent Polycystic Kidney Disease happening.

Main Complications of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Ⅰ. Pain on kidney region is the main symptom of PKD. Patients always have a feeling of pain or pressure on waist and back. Pain can be worsened after physical activity, long-time walking or sitting. Painful feeling can be relieved after a bed rest. Besides, kidney internal bleeding, stone movements or infections can also cause serious pain.

Ⅱ. Haematuria: about 50% patients get microscopic Haematuria, and sometimes gross Haematuria can be found. This is caused by blood vessel rupture of cyst wall. Blood coagulated in ureter can lead to colic. Besides, Haematuria usually happens accompanied with Leucocyturia and Albuminuria. Protein in urine is tiny, not more than 1.0g per day. When there is kidney internal infection, obvious pyuria appears with worsening Haematuria as well as pain on waist accompanied by fever.

Ⅲ. High Blood Pressure is common among Adult Polycystic Kidney Disease. 50% patients suffer from High Blood Pressure before serum creatinine increase, which is related with cystic pressure on surrounding tissue as well as activation of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system. It has been proved that cyst growing has a close relationship with High Blood Pressure. Besides, patients who suffer from High Blood Pressure may have more rapidly growing cysts, which can affect prognosis directly.

Ⅳ. Renal Insufficiency: it is inevitable that Renal Insufficiency appears in PKD. Very few patients get Renal Failure in teenager period. Normally, seldom Renal Function decline appear before patients are 40 years old, and half renal function can be kept for 50% patients when they are 70 years old. However, the course of illness developing into Renal Failure is much shorter if patients suffer from High Blood Pressure.

Ⅴ. Polycystic Liver Disease: as for patients who suffer from PKD from middle age, about half of these patients may get Polycystic Liver Disease at the same time, and this proportion increases to 70% after patients get 60 years old. Generally, Polycystic Liver has a slow development and it is usually found about 10 years later than PKD. Cysts of Polycystic Liver Disease are caused by expending of bile duct. Besides, pancreas and ovary can also have cystic change.

Ⅵ. Kidney Enlargement: there is an unequal pathological change of bilateral kidneys. Kidneys may occupy the whole abdominal cavity. Large amount of cysts grow on kidney surface, which leads to irregular kidney shape.


Ⅶ. Angeioma of circle of Willis: 10% to 40% patients may get this complication which is usually found in a further check of cerebral hemorrhage caused by angeioma rupture. Besides, thoracic aortic aneurysm and cardiovalvular diseases like valvular inadequacy and prolapse are also common.

How to Prevent Renal Failure in Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of congenital hereditary disease, mainly expressed by various sized cysts in bilateral kidneys, which can enlarge kidney obviously and cause shape abnormality to kidneys. With illness development, cysts grow bigger and more and finally Renal Functional Failure appears due to great damage of renal tissue. Well then, how to preventing Renal Failure happening in the course of PKD.

Firstly, discover illness condition as early as possible. PKD has a hereditary tendency, with equal incidence to both male and female. For this reason, there may be several family members suffering from PKD at the same time in a family with PKD history. PKD always happens among patients who are at middle age. Even some patients do not realize this disease until symptoms of Renal Function Failure appear.

Secondly, preventing and treating complications early. High Blood Pressure, urinary tract infection and cyst rupture are common among complications of PKD. Meantime, these complications are also significant factors inducing and worsening renal function damage. Therefore, these complications should be treated and controlled in time. When choosing medicine, patients should be care about nephrotoxic medicine.

Thirdly, Chinese Medicine treatment: Chinese Medicine has a good effect on treating Chronic Renal Function Failure, especially on treating early or middle stage patients. Chinese Medicine can improve patients’ clinical condition obviously and control illness development as well as reduce serum creatinine and urea nitrogen.

Fourthly, family care and nursing: Renal Function Failure of PKD is a kind of chronic progressive developing disease. It may be worsened by mood swings, extreme tiredness or improper diet as well as trauma and other related factors. Therefore, patients should keep a happy mood and adjust their work and rest properly as well as build confidence to overcome this disease and cooperate with treatment actively. As for diet principle, patients should take a light and fresh diet with rich nutrition. More fruit is OK. Besides, patients should limit their protein intake properly and avoid icy, uncooked and spicy food. Cigarette and alcohol are forbidden. If patients suffer from serious Hypertensive Edema, they should limited sodium salt intake. in addition, patients should take some exercise, but be cautious about compress on waist and abdomen in order to prevent cysts rupture. Patients suffering from serious illness condition should take a bed rest.


Fifthly, Kidney Replacement Therapy: due to renal function decline seriously, patients who are in late stage Renal Function Failure of PKD usually have a really bad reaction to medicine. Besides, these patients’ clinical symptoms worsen gradually and illness condition is so dangerous that Kidney Replacement Therapy, Hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, should be considered. Abdominal cavity reduces because patients’ kidneys enlarge obviously. Under such circumstances, peritoneal dialysis nearly has no effect, so hemodialysis is taken normally. As for patients with continuous bleeding or uncontrolled blood pressure, surgery operation can be considered to remove kidney. Kidney Transplant can be taken if possible.