Clinical features and pathophysiology of polycystic kidney disease in man.

Adult polycystic kidney disease is recognized as the traditional form of cystic kidney disease in man. It was the first described. It is the best studied. It is the most common among adults, affecting roughly one of every 500 persons. It accounts for renal failure in some 5% of patients coming to renal transplantation and ranks third as a cause of end-stage renal disease. Its cause(s) and prevention (other than genetic control through counseling) remain unknown, although some evidence of a preliminary nature is beginning to accumulate.