What Age does Polycystic Kidney Disease Set in

Healthy kidneys are primarily responsible for filtering the blood, removing waste products and extra electrolytes, and also regulating blood pressure. Polycystic Kidney Disease is a genetic disorder which is marked by the formation of multiple fluid-filled cysts on the kidneys. Over time, the disease may cause that kidneys to function improperly (because the normal kidney tissue is replaced by the cysts), ultimately progressing to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). While, what age does PKD set in?

People cannot catch PKD from a virus or by being exposed to another person who has this disorder. It is hereditary and there are two distinct forms of the disease that are classified based on their inheritance patterns.

▪ Autosomal dominant PKD is by far the most common form of PKD and runs in families, which is passed from parent to child. Children of parents with this disease have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the gene. About 10% of patients have a gene that mutated causing the disease. About half of people with ADPKD progress to Renal Failure.

▪ Autosomal recessive PKD occurs in only about 1 in every 125,000 people. It strikes infants sometimes even before birth. The disease is also called "infantile PKD". Both parents must be carriers of the ARPKD gene to pass it to a child. Children have a 25 percent chance of getting this disease.

ADPKD patients often have no symptoms until they reach between age of 30~40. The most common symptoms include high blood pressure, hematuria (blood in the urine) and/or pain in the back, sides and belly.

While, ARPKD is usually diagnosed very early on. An ultrasound can reveal cysts in a fetus's kidneys, while it is still in the womb. This disease can also affects other areas of the body such as the liver, pancreas, and spleen, causing low blood cell counts, varicose veins and hemorrhoids.
By age of 60, about 50% of PKD patients will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to replace the kidneys' function. Of children with ARPKD, about 1/3 will need dialysis or a transplant by the time of 10-years old.

However, some PKD patients are living a normal life without dialysis, since they receive standard treatment which can help shrink the enlarged cysts, stop the progress of disease, and restore the kidney functions.