Nephrotic syndrome in children is usually caused by a condition known as minimal change disease, so called because there is little abnormal to see if you look at a kidney biopsy from an affected child under the microscope. It is associated with leakage of protein into the urine, but does not affect the other functions of the kidney, and so does not cause kidney failure. It usually responds to treatment with steroids. Treatment of kidney problems in children involves a team, which includes nephrologists, dieticians, nurses, and pharmacists, all with specialised knowledge of the needs of children with kidney disease. If the kidneys fail their function can be replaced by dialysis or kidney transplantation.
Haemodialysis involves using a dialysis machine and an artificial kidney to filter the blood.
In peritoneal dialysis a soft tube is placed through the skin over the abdomen into the lining of the tummy. Fluid is cycled in and out of the tummy. This allows waste products to pass across the lining of the peritoneum into the fluid, and be removed every time the fluid is drained out. Inheritance patterns In the adult type of polycystic disease inheritance is autosomal dominant or by a new mutation. Infantile polycystic disease inheritance is autosomal recessive.