Why do Patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Have the Symptom of Anemia

Why do patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) have the symptom of anemia? When Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) develops into renal insufficiency or renal failure, patients may have the symptom of anemia. In the blood test, the report may show the low level of hemoglobin. And in clinical, patients may feel tired and lacking of strength, and the patients with the symptom of anemia may look pale. Then why do patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) have the symptom of anemia?

The main cause of the symptom of anemia is the damage to the kidney. With the enlargement of the cysts, they will compress the normal renal tissues, leading to the ischemia and anemia of the glomerulus. Glomerulus is the basic unit of the kidney’s filtration function. And there are five kinds of renal intrinsic cells, playing different roles on the kidney’s filtration procedure. And the ischemia and anemia will lead to the damage of the renal intrinsic cells, causing the necrosis of the glomerulus. And the renal function will decline gradually.

With the damage of the glomerulus and the decline of the renal function, the secretion function will decline. At this time, kidneys are failed to secret enough hemopoietin to meet the demand of the body, which is one of the main causes of the symptom of anemia. Besides, as for Polycystic Kidney Disease patients who have developed to the stage of renal insufficiency or renal failure stage, there is large quantity of toxins, which will decrease the survival time of the red blood cells.
And the decrease of intake of iron and increase of the iron loss will lead to the insufficiency of the combining of the red blood cells. All of these factors can lead to the Polycystic Kidney Disease patients suffering from the symptom of anemia.