Most patients with focal sclerosis progress to kidney failure and require dialysis treatments or kidney transplant. This may take from one to 20 years to happen, but generally, it happens within 10 years. Drugs that affect the body s immune system, such as prednisone or immunosuppressants, have been used to treat the disorder, but it is not certain whether these drugs have a definite benefit. Treatment is usually aimed at slowing the rate of loss of kidney function by controlling high blood pressure with medicine and reducing the intake of protein in the diet. Patients who progress to kidney failure generally are young and good candidates for kidney transplants.
Focal sclerosis can recur in the transplanted kidney.
This may be more common when the kidney comes from a blood relative. However, you should not be discouraged about trying a transplant since the majority of patients do not develop recurrent disease. Twenty million Americans have some form of kidney or urologic disease. Millions more are at risk. The National Kidney Foundation, Inc., a major voluntary health organization, is working to find the answers through prevention, treatment and cure.