Cystic Diseases of the Kidney

Key points

• • Simple renal cysts are common, are usually single, and are typically harmless findings noted by chance on a scan.
• • Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is an inherited disorder in which both kidneys slowly fill with many cysts and enlarge greatly.
• • It presents in adulthood with high blood pressure, blood in the urine, flank masses and a gradual decline towards kidney failure.
• • It is associated with cysts in the liver and with berry aneurysms in the brain, which can bleed.
• • The rarer autosomal recessive form appears in infancy and is often linked with fibrosis of the liver.