Can Medullary Sponge Kidney Lead to Chronic Kidney Disease

Medullary Sponge Kidney is a congenital kidney disorder featured by dilatation of collecting ducts. Chronic Kidney Disease may occurs as many as 10% patients with the disorder.

Urinary tract infection(UTI) is the leading cause of Chronic Kidney Disease. It usually occurs in the fourth to fifth decades of life and its incidence is higher in women than men. If the patients with Medullary Sponge Kidney can not control UTIs effectively, the infection will spread to kidneys, thus resulting in kidney infection. Additionally, the frequent kidney stone can increase the incidence of UTI, urinary obstruction, etc. These problems can aggravate renal function decline. If the patients with Medullary Sponge Kidney have the following symptoms, it may imply they have developed Chronic Kidney Disease.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure is a common symptom of Chronic Kidney Disease. As the malfunctioned kidneys fail to filter extra fluid from body, a lot of fluid build up in body, thus elevating blood volume. Thus, the blood pressure will increase, mostly along with swelling in eyelids, legs and feet.

Foam in urine

In normal condition, the foams in toilet will disappear after a short while. If the foams in urine exists longer than before, the patients with Medullary Sponge Kidney should take more care about this abnormal sign. Foam in urine may be associated with protein loss in urine.

Fatigue

Fatigue in Chronic Kidney Disease may be caused by anemia. When malfunctioned kidneys can not produce enough erythropoietin which can stimulate the production of red blood cells, anemia will occur.

Leg cramp

If the patients with Medullary Sponge Kidney has longstanding leg cramp for no clear reason, they should figure out if it is caused by Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney damage can cause low calcium level in blood, thus leading to leg cramp.

How Can I Stop Progressive Deterioration in Kidney Function

Chronic Kidney Disease, also known as Chronic Renal Failure is a slow progressive deterioration in kidney function. Eventually the patient develops permanent Kidney Failure and has to require dialysis or kidney transplant to survive. Is there any effective way to stop kidney function deterioration?

General instructions

☆ Eat healthy foods

Kidneys are responsible for filtering out wastes products from body. The more wastes products there are, the harder they need to work. Foods loaded in proteins, salts and fats can put extra strain on kidneys. It is a wise choice for people with Chronic Kidney Disease to remove those foods from their daily diet.

☆ Drink enough water

If the patient does not have swelling or reducing in urine output, they are suggested to drink enough water each day. Kidneys filter out the wastes by producing urine. More urine can help remove more wastes out of body.

☆ Medication

High blood pressure is a common complication of Chronic Kidney Disease. In return, it is an important risk in deteriorating renal function. Generally, the patient is prescribed with medications like ACE, ARB drugs to lower blood pressure. Sometimes, the medications are ordered even if the patient has not developed high blood pressure yet for the medications have certain effect in preserving renal function.

Featured treatment
The above general instructions can slow down deterioration in kidney function to a certain extent. However, they are not able to stop the deterioration.
Chronic Kidney Disease is divided into three stages: inflammation response, renal fibrosis and scarring.
After the kidneys are damaged, the renal intrinsic cells will attract inflammatory cell in blood to infiltrate into kidneys, thus leading to inflammation response. If the response is not controlled timely, the renal intrinsic cells will have phenotype transformation and lose their function. Finally, all of the kidney tissues are scarred and lose the function completely.
Therefore, if early and effective treatment is involved, the deterioration in kidney function will be halted. What the patients should do is to suppress the inflammation response and prevent renal fibrosis.

Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy has been applied to treat Chronic Kidney Disease and 26 years' clinical application fully proves its excellent curative effects. It performs the following functions in treating Chronic Kidney Disease.

※ The underlying initiating factor of renal fibrosis is renal ishemia and anoxia.The effective medicines in Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy can correct the microcirculation disturbance in kidneys by dilating blood vessels and renal arteries.

※ The active ingredients can suppress the releasing of inflammatory factors and stop the infiltration to kidney tissues and cells.

※ The therapy can degrade the fibrosis tissues and impaired kidney tissues. In this way, it can create more space and a favorable environment for regeneration of new kidney tissues and cells.

※ It can active the self-repairing of renal intrinsic cells and promote the regeneration of new cells. Therefore, the renal function will have a remarkable improvement.

Once the attributable factors of deterioration in kidney function are eliminated, the kidney disease will stop progressing completely.

Chronic Kidney Disease and Stages

About Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a disease whereby the kidneys have trouble removing waste products and fluid from the body. Usual causes of CKD include Diabetes Mellitus, high blood pressure and chronic glomerulonephritis. People with CKD often have no symptoms although the kidney function is severely affected.


CKD stages


The stages of CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) are mainly based on measured or estimated GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate). There are five stages but kidney function is normal in Stage 1, and minimally reduced in Stage 2.

The table below shows CKD and GFR for each stage:

Stage GFR* Description 1 With normal or high GFR 90+ Normal kidney function but tests show early signs of kidney damage 2 Mild CKD 60-89 Mildly reduced kidney function, test results point to some signs of kidney damage 3 Moderate CKD 30-59 Moderately reduced kidney function 4 Severe CKD 15-29 Severely reduced kidney function 5 End-stage CKD <15 or on dialysis Established kidney failure, kidney dialysis or transplant may be needed

Chronic Kidney Disease And Anemia

Usually anemia begins in the early stages of chronic kidney disease and gets worse as kidney function, also known as renal function, decreases. Anemia, when untreated, can be the cause of a poor quality of life. In some cases, people with severe anemia don’t have the energy to even get out of bed. In addition, anemia may cause heart disease, increased hospitalizations, even death. To help people with chronic kidney disease and anemia have more energy to live a better life, anemia management is part of their kidney disease treatment.


Symptoms of anemia

Most people with anemia will have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Feeling weak
• Feeling tired or fatigued
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• Rapid heartbeat
• Pale skin and gums
• Inability to think clearly

If someone with these symptoms talks to his or her doctor, the doctor will perform tests to determine the level and cause of anemia.


Anemia management is an important part of improving the quality of life and health of chronic kidney disease and dialysis patients. Treating anemia in people with kidney disease helps prevent fatigue and other symptoms, improves heart health and decreases hospitalizations. Talk to your doctor or members of your health care team to learn more about anemia management.



Make An Estimation of Your Current CKD. This health checker estimates the risk to develop Kidney Failure and provide some guidance for CKD patients : http://www.kidneyabc.com/CKDQuestionnaire.html

Chronic Kidney Disease Causes Symptoms and Stages

What causes CKD?

The two main causes of chronic kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure, which are responsible for up to two-thirds of the cases. Diabetes happens when your blood sugar is too high, causing damage to many organs in your body, including the kidneys and heart, as well as blood vessels, nerves and eyes. High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when the pressure of your blood against the walls of your blood vessels increases. If uncontrolled, or poorly controlled, high blood pressure can be a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and chronic kidney disease. Also, chronic kidney disease can cause high blood pressure.

Other conditions that affect the kidneys are:

Glomerulonephritis, a group of diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the kidney's filtering units. These disorders are the third most common type of kidney disease.

Inherited diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease, which causes large cysts to form in the kidneys and damage the surrounding tissue.

Malformations that occur as a baby develops in its mother's womb. For example, a narrowing may occur that prevents normal outflow of urine and causes urine to flow back up to the kidney. This causes infections and may damage the kidneys.
Lupus and other diseases that affect the body's immune system.

Obstructions caused by problems like kidney stones, tumors or an enlarged prostate gland in men.

Repeated urinary infections.

What are the symptoms of CKD?

Most people may not have any severe symptoms until their kidney disease is advanced. However, you may notice that you:

• feel more tired and have less energy
• have trouble concentrating
• have a poor appetite
• have trouble sleeping
• have muscle cramping at night
• have swollen feet and ankles
• have puffiness around your eyes, especially in the morning
• have dry, itchy skin
• need to urinate more often, especially at night.

Anyone can get chronic kidney disease at any age. However, some people are more likely than others to develop kidney disease. You may have an increased risk for kidney disease if you:

• have diabetes
• have high blood pressure
• have a family history of chronic kidney disease
• are older
• belong to a population group that has a high rate of diabetes or high blood pressure, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians.

Five stages of chronic kidney disease


Below shows the five stages of CKD and GFR for each stage:

• Stage 1 with normal or high GFR (GFR > 90 ml/min)
• Stage 2 Mild CKD (GFR = 60-89 ml/min)
• Stage 3 Moderate CKD (GFR = 30-59 ml/min)
• Stage 4 Severe CKD (GFR = 15-29 ml/min)
• Stage 5 End Stage CKD (GFR <15 ml/min)

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) means lasting damage to the kidneys that can get worse over time. If the damage is very bad, your kidneys may stop working. This is called kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). If your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant in order to live.

The stages of chronic kidney disease, as follows:

Stage 1: Kidney damage with normal or increased GFR (>90 mL/min/1.73 m2)

Stage 2: Mild reduction in GFR (60-89 mL/min/1.73 m2)

Stage 3: Moderate reduction in GFR (30-59 mL/min/1.73 m2)

Stage 4: Severe reduction in GFR (15-29 mL/min/1.73 m2)

Stage 5: Kidney failure (GFR < 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 or dialysis)

In stage 1 and stage 2 chronic kidney disease, GFR alone does not clinch the diagnosis. Other markers of kidney damage, including abnormalities in the composition of blood or urine or abnormalities on imaging studies, should also be present in establishing a diagnosis of stage 1 and stage 2 chronic kidney disease.

Patients with chronic kidney disease stages 1-3 are generally asymptomatic; clinically manifestations typically appear in stages 4-5 (see Clinical). Early diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause and/or institution of secondary preventive measures is imperative in patients with chronic kidney disease. These may delay, or possibly halt, progression.