Can't tell the difference between common kidney diseases? This article will help you understand!

The kidney is an important excretory organ in the human body, responsible for filtering blood, producing urine, excreting metabolic waste, and maintaining water and salt balance. However, a variety of factors may lead to the occurrence of kidney disease. The following are some common types of kidney disease and their characteristics.

Glomerular Disease

Acute glomerulonephritis: usually caused by an immune response to an infection such as streptococcus. The onset is rapid, and patients often experience symptoms such as hematuria, proteinuria, edema, and hypertension, which may be accompanied by oliguria. Most patients have a history of upper respiratory tract infection or skin infection 1-3 weeks before the onset of the disease. Through rest, anti-infection and symptomatic treatment, most patients can recover within weeks or months.

Chronic glomerulonephritis: The causes are diverse. It can develop from a variety of primary glomerular diseases that have not been cured, or it may manifest as a chronic process from the beginning. Its symptoms are similar to those of acute glomerulonephritis, but the disease is prolonged and gradually progresses, which can lead to renal damage and may eventually develop into uremia. The treatment is mainly to control blood pressure, reduce proteinuria, and delay the progression of renal function.

Nephrotic syndrome: This is a group of clinical syndromes with massive proteinuria (urine protein greater than 3.5g/d), hypoproteinemia (plasma albumin less than 30g/L), edema and hyperlipidemia as the main manifestations. It can be divided into primary nephrotic syndrome and secondary nephrotic syndrome, the latter of which is often caused by diseases such as diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Henoch-Schonlein purpura. Treatment should be carried out according to the cause, and drugs such as glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants are often used.

Tubulo-interstitial diseases

Acute interstitial nephritis: mainly caused by drug allergy, infection and other factors. The onset is acute, and patients may experience systemic symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain, as well as renal manifestations such as hematuria, proteinuria, and leukocyturia. Some patients may experience a sharp decline in renal function. Timely discontinuation of sensitizing drugs and administration of glucocorticoids and other treatments can restore renal function in most patients.

Chronic interstitial nephritis: Causes include long-term use of certain drugs, heavy metal poisoning, autoimmune diseases, etc. The onset is insidious, and early symptoms often manifest as renal tubular dysfunction, such as increased nocturia, low specific gravity urine, renal tubular acidosis, etc., and renal failure may occur in the late stage. The key to treatment is to eliminate the cause and delay the deterioration of renal function.

Renal vascular disease

Renal artery stenosis: often caused by atherosclerosis, fibromuscular dysplasia, etc. Renal artery stenosis can lead to reduced renal blood flow, activate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, cause hypertension and renal damage. Patients often show difficult-to-control hypertension, and some patients can hear vascular murmurs in the upper abdomen or waist. Treatments include medication, angioplasty and surgery.

Renal vein thrombosis: It is more common in nephrotic syndrome, hypercoagulable state, etc. Acute renal vein thrombosis can cause symptoms such as pain in the affected side of the waist, hematuria, proteinuria, etc. The symptoms of chronic renal vein thrombosis are relatively hidden, and renal function damage may gradually occur. The main treatment is anticoagulation, thrombolysis, etc.

Hereditary kidney disease

Polycystic kidney disease: It is divided into infantile and adult types. Adult polycystic kidney disease is more common and is an autosomal dominant genetic disease. The patient has multiple cysts of varying sizes on both kidneys. As the cysts gradually increase in size, they can compress the kidney tissue and cause renal damage. It is often accompanied by complications such as hypertension, hematuria, and kidney infection. There is currently no specific treatment, and it is mainly symptomatic treatment to delay the deterioration of renal function.

Hereditary nephritis: also known as Alport syndrome, is a hereditary disease with hematuria, progressive renal dysfunction, sensorineural hearing loss and eye abnormalities as the main manifestations. It usually starts in childhood or adolescence, and the condition of male patients is usually more serious than that of female patients.

Understanding the types and characteristics of common kidney diseases can help us detect kidney problems early, seek medical diagnosis and treatment in a timely manner, protect kidney function, and improve quality of life.