Patient's question:
Recently, my appetite has been poor, and I've been experiencing some swelling in my body. I feel completely exhausted. When I went to the hospital for a check-up, they said it was kidney disease. Could you please explain the difference between polycystic kidney disease and renal cyst?Doctor's answer:
Polycystic kidney disease and renal cysts are not the same disease. The differences are as follows. Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disorder of the autosomes. On the other hand, cysts can be congenital or caused by factors such as post-traumatic stress, inflammation, or tumors. Patients with polycystic kidney disease often have a family history. In contrast, renal cysts do not have a family history similar to that of patients. The fluid inside polycystic kidney disease is urine, while the fluid inside renal cysts often contains a large number of red blood cells. Polycystic kidney disease is often characterized by hypertension, edema, and impaired renal function. Renal cysts generally do not cause hypertension or renal failure.