Liver cysts are fluid-filled crevices or sacs in the liver. The majority of hepatic (liver) cysts are unremarkable and never produce symptoms, however in some cases, hepatic cysts may signal an underlying disease. Also, in certain cases, according...
The kidneys are oval-shaped organs that are located on either side of the spine in the lower back. The kidneys are the body's blood filters. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney diseases (NIDDK) reports that the kidneys...
Healthy kidneys clean the blood by removing waste products. Unhealthy kidneys do not do this effectively. In addition to leaving waste products in the blood, they often remove vital proteins. Spilling protein into urine is called proteinuria....
Polycystic kidney disease is a a genetic disorder that affects the kidneys and other organs of the body. According to MedlinePlus, a publication of the National Institutes of Health, it can be present in 1 in 1,000 Americans, with some...
Polycystic kidney disease affects about 600,000 people in the U.S., according to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Healthy eating can help people with the inherited kidney disease feel better, and some specific...
Two different diseases -- autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease -- cause renal cysts. Both these diseases are genetic and the key symptom for both is the formation of cysts on the kidneys....
Renal cysts are a result of polycystic kidney disease. The Mayo Clinic states these benign cysts contain fluid similar to water and form groups in the kidneys. Renal cysts may be accompanied by similar cysts throughout the body. Even though these...
Urinary incontinence affects about 13 million Americans according to the National Institute of Health, but the underlying cause can vary vastly from person to person. In some cases, frequent urination is an indicator of a more serious illness....
Renal disease, also known as kidney disease, is a decline in kidney function that leads to the buildup of waste products and excess fluid in the blood. Signs and symptoms of renal disease include fatigue, itching, nausea, vomiting, easy bruising...
The kidneys are more than just a way for the body to eliminate waste products. They ensure that that the body has enough red blood cells by secreting a hormone to stimulate red blood cell production when the level is low. They produce vitamin D to...
Renal failure is kidney failure, or when the kidneys fail to function well enough to filter waste products and remove excess water from the body via the bloodstream. Kidney failure leads to retention of water and the buildup of waste that can...
The kidneys function to maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. The kidneys also process the metabolic waste of protein metabolism, which the body excretes in urine. Lesser-known, but vital kidney jobs include blood pressure...
The kidneys work to filter toxins from the body, then remove them by sending them through the rest of the urinary tract for expulsion. When chronic kidney or renal failure occurs, it happens slowly and the sufferer may not notice it for some time....
The kidneys are a vital organ because they remove waste products from the blood. Impairment leads to buildup of these waste products. If impairment continues unchecked, it leads to kidney failure and death. According to the National Kidney...
Polycystic kidney disease has two specific variants called autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Both are caused by different genes and produce slightly different diseases. Both can be...
Polycystic kidney disease is far from the death sentence that you might fear. Only 24,828 of the 527,283 Americans treated for end-stage kidney disease in 2007 had polycystic disease, according to the 2009 Annual Report of the U.S. Renal Data...
Cystic kidney disease is characterized by fluid filled sacs located in the kidneys. According to the experts at Merck, renal cysts can be a hereditary condition. The presence of theses cysts are harmful to kidney function because they can cause...
Potassium is an essential mineral needed for the muscles, heart, nerves, cells and organs to function properly. It's important to keep the proper amount of potassium in the blood because it conducts the electricity that keeps the heart beating,...
According to the National Kidney Foundation, chronic kidney disease affects 26 million Americans. Chronic kidney disease, synonymous with chronic kidney failure or chronic renal insufficiency, describes a gradual and long-standing loss of kidney...
Chronic renal failure is the result of a gradually progressive loss of kidney function. A 2007 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that nearly 17 percent of the U.S. population age 20 and older has chronic kidney...
Renal failure causes the kidneys to stop working properly, which allows waste products, fluid and minerals to build up in the blood. Without treatment, the accumulation of these substances causes nausea, fatigue, itchy skin, swelling and other...
Healthy kidneys filter waste and excess fluids out of the body through urine. Renal failure is the loss of kidney function due to damage, which results in dangerous levels of fluid and waste retention in the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. The...
