The kidneys are vital
organs responsible for filtering waste products from the blood, regulating
electrolyte balance, and controlling fluid balance in the body. However, kidney
disease can occur due to a variety of factors that interfere with the normal
functioning of the kidneys.
One common cause of
kidney disease is diabetes. High blood sugar levels can damage the blood
vessels in the kidneys, leading to a condition called diabetic nephropathy.
Over time, this damage can cause the kidneys to lose their ability to filter
waste products from the blood, leading to kidney failure.
High blood pressure is
another common cause of kidney disease. High blood pressure can damage the
blood vessels in the kidneys and interfere with the normal functioning of the
kidneys. This damage can lead to a condition called hypertensive nephropathy,
which can cause kidney failure.
Certain medications and
toxins can also cause kidney disease. For example, some antibiotics,
painkillers, and chemotherapy drugs can be toxic to the kidneys and cause
damage over time. Exposure to certain environmental toxins, such as heavy
metals or pesticides, can also cause kidney damage.
Inherited conditions,
such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD), can also lead to kidney disease. PKD
causes cysts to form in the kidneys, which can interfere with their normal
functioning and eventually lead to kidney failure.
Other factors that can
contribute to kidney disease include smoking, obesity, and a diet high in
sodium and processed foods. Chronic kidney disease can often develop slowly
over time and may not cause symptoms until it has progressed to a more advanced
stage.
The normal aging
process affects kidney function in various ways. Kidney is affected by
diseases.
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| Kidney Stone |
Kidney Stone
Kidney stones are hard
objects usually found in the pelvis of the kidney. They are normally 2-3 mm in
diameter with either smooth or jagged surface. Branching stone is called
staghorn stone. If a stone passes into a ureter, it may stimulate severe pain,
which commonly begins in the region of kidney and tends to radiate into the
abdomen, pelvis, and legs. It may also be accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
About 65% of all kidney stones are composed of calcium oxalate mixed with
calcium phosphate, 15% are magnesium ammonium phosphate and 10% are uric acid.
The cause of forming the stones is formation of metabolic wastes.
Hypercalcemia:
It is the high level of calcium circulating in the blood because of other
diseases. Salts are precipitated out during urine formation and accumulate
later on to form stone.
Lithotripsy:
The kidney stones can be removed by surgery. Now the kidney stones are removed
through lithotripsy. It is a technique to break up stones that form in the
kidney, ureter or gall bladder by shock waves generated outside the body.
Renal Failure
A general term for a
decline kidney function particularly the efficiency of the filtering process is
called kidney failure or renal failure. It is due to various factors such as
pathological and chemical. In the plasma, level of urea and other nitrogenous wastes
increases due to destruction of nephron particularly its glomerular part. The
rise in urea causes increase in blood pressure and anemia etc. If kidney
failure is not treated, death will result within a couple of week. This is
often due to buildup of potassium ions which causes heart failure.
Dialysis
Chronic kidney failure
takes place over a number of years. To remove the nitrogenous wastes the blood
of the patient is treated through dialysis. The blood is pumped out of the
body, filtered to remove the waste materials, a process called dialysis. The
two types of dialysis are Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
(i)
Hemodialysis: It means cleaning the blood. The
patient is connected to the machine by inserting a catheter (a hollow tube like
needle) into an artery, connecting this to a flexible tube leading to the
machine and returning it to a vein. The blood is pumped gently out of the
artery and returned to the vein. The blood circulates slowly through dialysis
tubing. Exchange between the blood and dialyzing solution continues until
equilibrium is reached. Overall unwanted substances are removed particularly
urea and excess of sodium and potassium.
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| Hemodialysis |
(ii) Peritoneal dialysis:
A thin plastic tube is inserted into the abdominal cavity through a small slit
in the abdominal wall and can be left in permanently. The peritoneal membrane
or peritoneum which lines the abdominal cavity is the dialyzing membrane, and
is partially permeable. Dialysis fluid is added to the abdominal cavity down
the tube and left for several hours before removal. Exchange takes place
between the fluids in the rest of the abdomen. The fluid can be replaced
regularly 3 or 4 times a day. In between the patient can be mobile and free to
live a relatively normal life.
Kidney Transplant
In high degree renal
failure also called uremia or end stage renal disease, kidney transplant is the
only solution for the permanent treatment. Close living relatives are sometimes
used as donors since this greatly reduces the risk of rejection and a person
can live normally with just one kidney. A patient is “tissue typed” so that
antigens can be matched as closely as possible to those of the donors.
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