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Problems
with the kidneys |
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| What is nephritis? |
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Sometimes the kidneys become inflamed. This is called
nephritis. It may be because the kidneys have become infected by bacteria
– if so, it can be treated using antibiotics. |
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| Picture 6. An ultra-sound scan
of a kidney with a kidney stone. The surgeon uses ultrasound
to find the kidney stone and to break it up: "It's a bit like
space invaders". |
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| Kidney stones |
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Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits formed in the
kidney. They can pass into the urine and larger ones may stick in
the ureter.
Kidney stones can be smashed into smaller pieces using ultrasound.
Then the pieces are passed out of the body in the urine.
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| Kidney failure |
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Serious kidney disease may stop the kidneys working properly.
When both kidneys stop working, this is kidney failure. It may also
be caused by injury, high blood pressure, poisoning or dehydration. |
| What are the effects of kidney failure? |
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If a person’s kidneys don’t
work, waste products build up in the bloodstream and the person
will die without treatment – either dialysis
or a transplant.
Healthy kidneys produce erythropoietin, a hormone
that controls how fast new red blood cells are made. People
with kidney failure don’t make enough of this hormone.
As a result, they become anaemic because they can’t produce
enough red blood cells (red blood cells only last between
18 and 36 hours). Patients can take synthetically produced
erythropoietin (EPO) to ensure enough red blood cells are
made.
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| Picture 7. Jonny is having dialysis
(using CAPD - see page 5): "I come to hospital
three times a week. Each time, I'm here for five hours or so.
I'm used to it now and I know how to help the nurses set things
up. I'd rather be playing football or computer games but without
dialysis I'd never get a chance to play them." |
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| Treating kidney failure - dialysis |
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A kidney dialysis machine takes over the job of
the kidneys. The patient’s blood is passed over a special
membrane. Waste products diffuse out of the blood, through the
membrane into a dialysis solution which circulates through the
machine. A person may have dialysis for years, either at hospital
or at home. |
| Kidney transplants |
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When kidney failure is severe, the best option
may be to transplant a new, undamaged kidney from someone else.
About 1700 transplants are carried out in the UK each year.
Unfortunately there are not enough kidney donors to satisfy
the needs so patients have to wait on average 2 years before
receiving a new kidney.
The protein
markers on a kidney are usually different from a patient’s
protein markers. The patient’s immune system detects
this difference and may reject the new kidney. Medicines are
used to suppress the immune system to prevent rejection. These
immuno-suppressant medicines work by stopping the formation
of some white blood cells. However, the immune system doesn’t
stop working altogether because it must still defend the body
against infection.
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