Inamdar Hospital

Causes, Symptoms and Treatment for Kidney Stones

The kidneys are a pair of bean shaped organs responsible for blood filtration. It also eliminates waste products from the body. The kidneys are located in the abdomenal cavity of the body and help in keeping a check on the electrolyte level in the body.

Polycystic kidney disease or PKD is a condition in which a number of cysts grow on the kidneys. The cysts are filled with fluid, and if the number or the size of the cyst increases, it can lead to kidney damage and kidney failure. 5% of kidney failures are caused by PKD. PKD does not affect only the kidneys. It can also cause the cyst to grow on other organs, such as liver, pancreas, ovaries, spleen and large bowel. The brain and the heart can also be affected by PKD. If it reaches the brain, an aneurism is caused. Heart murmurs may occur if PKD affects the heart.

Symptoms: Symptoms are visible for those in the 30 to 40 age group; however, it differs from person to person. Back pain or side pain, enlargement of the abdomen, blood in the urine, high blood pressure, and frequent bladder or kidney infections are some of the common symptoms of PKD.

Diagnosis: An ultrasound is the most dependable, affordable and non-invasive way to diagnose PKD. MRI and CT scans can be used to detect the volume of the cyst. It also helps to determine small cysts which cannot be detected by ultrasound.

Treatment: There is no specific treatment for PKD at present. But certain steps and measures can be taken to slow down the growth of the cyst and to control the symptoms.

Prevention: Keeping a check on blood pressure, use of prescribed antibiotics to treat kidney or bladder infection, restricted use of caffeine, and medications to control pain are some of the treatments for relief and for arresting the growth of the cyst. Research also shows that drinking plenty of water throughout the day can also slow down the growth of the cyst. A diet low in fat and moderate in calories is recommended.

Types: Autosomal dominant kidney disorder is a genetic disorder and is passed on to the child from the parent by dominant inheritance. It is the most common type of PKD. The symptoms are visible after the age of 30 to 40. Infantile or autosomal recessive PKD is a genetic disorder and is inherited by the child from the parent by recessive inheritance. The symptoms are visible during the early months of life or in the womb. It is a rare form of PKD and occurs in 1 out of 25,000 people. Acquired cystic kidney disease occurs due to long-term kidney damage and is linked with kidney failure and dialysis. The bleeding of the cyst causes the bleeding in the urinary system and leads to urine discolouration.

Bladder cancer can be caused by a variety of factors, which include genetic factors, inheritance, drugs, chemicals, environment related factors and smoking. In fact, smoking tobacco is one of the major causes of bladder cancer around the world. The chemicals present in tobacco can irritate the bladder lining which ultimately leads to bladder cancer. Besides smoking other important environmental factors might be chemotherapy, exposure to chemicals from newspaper, dye, leather, paints industries.

Symptoms of bladder cancer are as follows:

Most often it occurs in people more than 50 years of age. It can present in different ways, but common symptoms being :

1. Painless hematuria - reddish or brownish colored urine with or without clots Increased frequency of urination Pain while passing urine .
2. Difficulty in passing urine

Diagnosis:

The diagnosis requires a proper imaging workup including ultrasound, CT scan and urine examinations. Following the initial imaging, a biopsy is required to confirm the diagnosis and stage the disease. This is done by cystoscopy under anesthesia.

Treatment Options:

Treatments for bladder cancer.depend on the stage of cancer. Broadly bladder cancers can be categorised into Non-invasive and Invasive cancers.

1. For non-invasive cancers: It requires recurrent cystoscopic surveillance and resection. For those with high risk of tumor recurrence or progression, intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy might be required.
2. For invasive cancers the various treatment choices are:
   1. Surgery: For localised tumor which are amenable to resection perhaps surgery is the best possible treatment. This is a major undertaking where in whole of bladder along with accessory organs is removed. The surgeon may offer choices for reconstruction between neobladder (refashioning bladder with patient's gut) or ileal conduit (fashioning a stoma over which bag can be worn to collect urine). Following surgery a regular follow up is required and the prognosis is good.
   2. Chemotherapy: This modality is reserved for patient's where surgery is not possible or they have metastatic disease (disease spread to other body parts).In this method, medications are used to target and destroy cancer cells.
   3. Radiation Therapy: This might be and option for patient's that are not suitable for surgery. Radiation therapy uses gamma rays to destroy cancer cells in the body The key to good prognosis in bladder cancers is early detection timely intervention and good follow up.

The problem of an enlarged prostate or benign prostate hyperplasia is a very common occurrence as you grow older. It's known to strike men above the age of 50, with more than 50% of men after the age of 60, having this complaint.

Causes of enlarged prostate

A non-cancerous condition, enlarged prostate makes the passing of urine from the bladder through the urethra difficult. The multiplication of the prostate cells causes an enlargement of the gland, leading to a buildup of pressure on the urethra, affecting the discharge of urine from the body. The narrowing of the urethra, due to this benign condition, forces the bladder to contract more vigorously so as to push urine out of the body.

As time passes, the muscles of the bladder get significantly affected, causing them to become extremely sensitive, thicker and stronger. As a consequence, the bladder begins to contract, even if the amount of urine in the organ is negligible, causing episodes of frequent urination. Gradually, the bladder fails to completely empty itself of urine due to the constriction of the urethra. This can give rise to a number of health problems including the formation of bladder stones, urinary tract infections, blood in the urine and so on.

How can you identify the signs of the condition?

Signs of enlarged prostate are very easy to identify and include:

- A slow or weak urine flow
- Difficulty in initiating urination
- Instances of frequent urination
- A feeling of not completely emptying one's bladder
- Frequent urination during the night
- Exerting a lot to urinate
- Instances of dribbling
- Urgency to pass urine
- A feeling of urinating again minutes after doing so
- Urination that starts and stops