Types of Kidney disease
Kidney disease: Types list
The list of types of Kidney disease mentioned in various sources includes:
- Nephritis - kidney disease due to inflammation
- Nephropathy - due to non-inflammatory causes
- Hyperfiltration (Stage 1) - increased filtering without microalbuminuria
- Mild microalbuminuria (Stage 2) - early stages of microalbuminuria
- Clinical albuminuria (Stage 3) - microalbuminuria in larger amounts
- Advanced clinical nephropathy (Stage 4)
- Kidney failure (Stage 5)
- Chronic renal insufficiency
- Early kidney failure
- Diabetic nephropathy
- Kidney failure
Types discussion:
The Course of Kidney Disease
The deterioration that characterizes kidney
disease of diabetes takes place in and around the glomeruli, the
blood-filtering units of the kidneys. Early in the disease, the filtering
efficiency diminishes, and important proteins in the blood are lost in the
urine. Medical professionals gauge the presence and extent of early kidney
disease by measuring protein in the urine. Later in the disease, the
kidneys lose their ability to remove waste products, such as creatinine
and urea, from the blood. Measuring these waste products in the blood
gives an indication of how far kidney disease has progressed.
Symptoms related to kidney failure usually occur only in late stages of
the disease, when kidney function has diminished to less than 10 to 25
percent of normal capacity. For many years before that point, kidney
disease of diabetes is a silent process.
Five Stages
Scientists have described five stages in the progression to kidney
failure in people with diabetes.
Stage I. The flow of blood through the kidneys, and therefore
through the glomeruli, increases--this is called hyperfiltration--and the
kidneys are larger than normal. Some people remain in stage I
indefinitely; others advance to stage II after many years.
Stage II. The rate of filtration remains elevated or at
near-normal levels, and the glomeruli begin to show damage. Small amounts
of a blood protein known as albumin leak into the urine--a condition known
as microalbuminuria. In its earliest stages, microalbuminuria may not be
detected on each evaluation. But as the rate of albumin loss increases
from 20 to 200 micrograms per minute, the finding of microalbuminuria
becomes more constant. (Normal losses of albumin are less than 5
micrograms per minute.) A special test is required to detect
microalbuminuria. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes may remain in
stage II for many years, especially if they have good control of their
blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
Stage III. The loss of albumin and other proteins in the urine
exceeds 200 micrograms per minute. It now can be detected during routine
urine tests. Because such tests often involve dipping indicator strips
into the urine, they are referred to as "dipstick methods." Stage III
sometimes is referred to as "dipstick-positive proteinuria" (or "clinical
albuminuria" or "overt diabetic nephropathy"). Some patients develop high
blood pressure. The glomeruli suffer increased damage. The kidneys
progressively lose the ability to filter waste, and blood levels of
creatinine and urea-nitrogen rise. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
may remain at stage III for many years.
Stage IV. This is referred to as "advanced clinical
nephropathy." The glomerular filtration rate decreases to less than 75
milliliters per minute, large amounts of protein pass into the urine, and
high blood pressure almost always occurs. Levels of creatinine and
urea-nitrogen in the blood rise further.
Stage V. The final stage is kidney failure. The glomerular
filtration rate drops to less than 10 milliliters per minute. Symptoms of
kidney failure become apparent.
These stages describe the progression of kidney disease for most people
with type 1 diabetes who develop kidney failure. For people with type 1,
the average length of time required to progress from onset of kidney
disease to stage IV is 17 years. The average length of time to progress to
kidney failure is 23 years. Progression to kidney failure may occur more
rapidly (5-10 years) in people with untreated high blood pressure. If
proteinuria does not develop within 25 years, the risk of developing
advanced kidney disease begins to decrease. Type 1 diabetes accounts for
only 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, but type 1
accounts for 30 percent of the cases of kidney failure caused by diabetes.
(Source: excerpt from Kidney Disease of Diabetes: NIDDK)
Kidney disease: Related Disease Topics
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