Kidney Disease

The kidneys are the body’s natural filtering system. The blood passes through the kidneys and is filtered to remove excess fluids and waste products from the body. When the kidneys fail, the body...

Renal failure, also known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a complex disorder that results in imbalances of vitamins, minerals, fluids and waste products in the body. According to the...

Creatinine is a waste product in your body. Normally, your kidneys filter creatinine out of your bloodstream. If you have high creatinine levels, this indicates a problem with your kidneys. Kidney...

Kidney disease or Chronic Kidney Disease (KCD) occurs when the kidneys are unable to function normally due to attacks on the nephrons, (the part responsible for filtering). Unfortunately for...

Polycystic kidney disease among adults is a genetic disorder that causes fluid-filled cysts to form in the kidneys. As the cysts develop, kidney function can become compromised and create other...

Gadolinium is a rare earth element used intravenously as an imaging agent to improve contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because it is highly toxic, gadolinium is coated with or bound...

Dialysis treatment can be essential for kidney patients, but it can also be extremely costly. The American Kidney Fund and the National Kidney Foundation both offer patients financial assistance...

Renal dialysis, or kidney dialysis, uses a hemodialysis machine to treat patients with kidney failure. Dialysis is performed on a patient's blood to remove wastes, fluids and salts, and return the...

Impaired kidney function can be caused by a number or underlying diseases and conditions and can be treated through a combination of diet, medication and lifestyle choices. The severity of kidney...

The kidney plays a key role in the body's normal function including cleaning toxins and fluids from the blood. Kidney dialysis is a man-made machine designed to perform the functions of the...

Excessive amounts of protein in the diet have long been regarded by some as dangerous to the kidneys in a typically healthy person. However, a renal patient (a person with kidney ailments) who...

Chronic renal insufficiency is a slow loss of kidney function which continues to get worse. You may not have symptoms in early stages of the disease but when it worsens you may experience fatigue,...

Dialysis is a treatment that is given to patients experiencing kidney failure. The procedure is used to help filter wastes and other materials from the blood, a function the kidneys are...

Acute renal failure occurs when your kidneys suddenly cease functioning. Since your kidneys filter waste from your body, renal failure puts you at risk for a build-up of these harmful substances....

Dialysis is a laboratory technique used to simulate the essential benefits of normal kidney function. Dialysis is employed after a person suffers renal failure.

Dialysis is a common way to treat kidney failure. It entails using a machine to process waste much like a healthy kidney would do. Though generally well-tolerated, there are some risks involved in...

Kidney dialysis is the use of a dialysis machine to remove toxins from the blood when the kidneys, which normally remove them, are not functioning. The prognosis for patients receiving dialysis is...

Renal failure, also called kidney failure, occurs when the kidneys stop filtering waste and excess salt from the blood. When this happens, fluids, salts, and waste can build up in the bloodstream....

Finding out that your or a loved one needs dialysis can be overwhelming. But there is a large amount of educational materials available to you, and it is important to educate yourself on all...

Dialysis is used to treat people with kidney failure. According to the Mayo Clinic, hundreds of thousands of people use dialysis to keep healthy when dealing with permanent kidney failure. The...

According to the American Kidney Fund, end stage renal disease (ESRD) is when the kidneys cease to function well enough to allow a person to live without a kidney transplant or dialysis. This...

If you are a kidney patient, getting the proper nutrition is essential for daily health and preventing malnutrition. Kidney patients must eat a sensible diet as designed by a renal dietitian, so...

Kidney dialysis is a procedure used when your kidneys no longer work properly. The kidneys clean your blood and produce hormones that strengthen bones. Kidneys fail because of injury or disease,...

Though diet and dialysis are the main treatment options for renal failure, medication is also sometimes used to treat and prevent symptoms associated with the condition. When your kidneys fail,...

End-stage kidney disease is the fifth and final stage of chronic kidney disease. At this point, the kidneys are functioning at such a low level that they cannot sustain life.

Sudden weight loss is usually an indication of a serious medical condition. One of those conditions can be kidney disease. The kidneys are an integral part of the body. They dispose of toxic waste...

Dialysis presents special problems for vascular access, or the ability to access veins and arteries to remove waste products from the blood. The function of the kidneys in your body is to remove...

Dialysis is a common treatment used to treat kidney failure. During the procedure, a machine is used to perform the functions of a healthy kidney such as filtering harmful substances from the blood.

Renal failure is a serious medical complication in which the kidneys fail to function properly or at all. Renal failure can be a progressive disease or a temporary condition based on severity and...

Kidney transplants and dialysis are two methods of treatment for patients who have suffered severe kidney damage. The kidneys are an organ in the body that filter the waste from your blood. These...

Iron sucrose infusions are primarily used to replenish iron in patients with chronic kidney disease. Iron is essential for the transport of oxygen throughout the body, and dialysis patients...

End stage renal failure (also known as end stage kidney disease or ESRF) is characterized by the nearly complete loss of kidney function. Healthy kidneys are responsible for a diverse range of...

It's a very scary time when you or someone you care about faces the final stage of kidney disease. The question "how long do people live on kidney dialysis?" can bring about a very sobering...

The kidneys can be damaged quickly due to trauma or long-term conditions can cause such gradual damage that failure can be imminent before a problem is detected. There are different treatment...

Acute kidney failure occurs when your kidneys suddenly stop functioning. When this occurs, they cease filtering the dangerous toxins, waste and electrolytes, which can then build up in your body.

The kidneys perform the critical tasks of removing wastes from blood and maintaining the volume of the blood by removing excess fluids. It is life-threatening if disease or trauma causes damage to...

Chronic kidney disease is determined by the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) which measures how well the blood is filtered by the kidneys. The glomerular filtration is the process of how the...

When the kidneys have permanently stopped functioning because of disease or trauma, it is called end stage renal disease. There are very few treatments for end stage kidney disease, and there are...

Kidney dialysis is a recurrent medical procedure for patients who have lost the function of their kidneys. A patient is hooked up to a dialysis machine that performs the normal renal functions....

Diabetics face a daily challenge when it comes to food. Blood sugar management is critical, and can be difficult even when all the "right" choices are made, leaving diabetics open to a wide range...

Kidney damage is a general term used to describe any degradation in kidney function. It can result from a host of conditions or injuries, including diabetes, infection, high blood pressure, low...

The different stages of kidney failure increase in severity as kidney function falters. Stages 1 through 5 are indicators of the extent to which the disease is progressing. Simply because an...

While two forms of kidney dialysis procedures exist, both aim to imitate kidney functions when a person experiences kidney failure and the body is unable to remove wastes, salt and water on its own.

Diabetic nephropathy is a form of kidney disease that affects people who have diabetes. The University of Maryland Medical Center estimates that about 100,000 Americans who already have diabetes...

Healthy kidneys remove excess fluid and wastes from the body. When kidneys fail, dialysis is needed to do the work of the kidneys. Hemodialysis is performed at a health care facility and involves...

Renal failure (kidney disease) is a disease condition referring to impaired kidney function. The kidneys, a pair of bean-shaped organs, are located in the mid-back region, one on each side of the...

Kidney dialysis patients have a special diet they must adhere to for many reasons. The diet includes choosing foods that are low in sodium, potassium and protein. Since the kidneys cannot filter...

Renal failure, or kidney failure, is the loss of your kidneys' ability to eliminate excess fluid, electrolytes and waste materials from your blood. Renal failure is dangerous because when your...

Kidneys are delicate organs that cannot be repaired once damaged. Once kidney disease or damage is diagnosed, your health care provider can only work to prevent further damage. When your kidney...

The kidneys are responsible for filtering and eliminating the waste products of the body. In the last stages of kidney failure, the kidneys are no longer able to perform this function. This can...