Since people with polycystic renal disease have only one abnormal gene of the two in this location, about 50 percent of their sperm or eggs will carry the polycystic gene, meaning that each of their children will have about a 50 percent chance of getting the disease. Not all people who carry the gene will have severe disease, and some will live to a ripe old age with relatively few problems. In many others, however, it does produce symptoms and may lead to renal failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. Symptoms usually appear when people carrying the gene are in their 30s or 40s. Pain in the sides of the abdomen and blood in the urine are common.
Kidney stones appear in a few people, and high blood pressure commonly develops.
If the disease is severe enough to cause high blood pressure, then progression to kidney failure usually occurs. Before everyone with high blood pressure writes me to ask if they have polycystic renal disease, let me make clear that the vast majority of people with high blood pressure, a very common disease, do not have polycystic renal disease, although most people with polycystic renal disease eventually develop high blood pressure. Cysts in other organs, particularly the liver, are often seen, but seldom cause problems. The cysts in the kidneys cause the organs to become very large, and a doctor can usually feel them when palpating the abdomen. There is no specific treatment for the condition, but measures should be taken to avoid damaging the kidneys further.