Kidney Diseases We Treat

What Is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease is the result of a number of health conditions that damage kidney function over time. Two common causes of chronic kidney disease are diabetes (uncontrolled blood glucose or blood sugar levels) and high blood pressure.

If not treated effectively, chronic kidney disease can result in end-stage renal disease (kidney failure). People with kidney failure require dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.

Dialysis is a treatment that filters the body's blood when the kidneys can no longer do so. Both types of dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis) typically work well as a short-term treatment for kidney failure. However, kidney transplantation remains the best and more effective long-term solution.

Learn more about kidney failure.

Other Kidney Conditions We Treat

Other conditions that can damage kidney function include:

• Glomerulonephritis, a group of conditions that cause inflammation and may cause kidneys to be unable to filter out waste and harmful substances over time
• Kidney cancer, when cancerous cells grow in one or both kidneys
• Polycystic kidney disease, a genetic condition (inherited from your parents) that causes fluid-filled cysts to grow in the kidneys in an uncontrolled fashion
• Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, that affect how well the kidneys work
• Hypertensive nephrosclerosis, when consistently high blood pressure levels damage the kidney's tissue