Kidney Function

Nephrology is the medical specialty that deals with the kidney disease, its diagnosis and treatment. In its exercise could distinguish a level of primary health care, with some central issues such as urinary tract infections, hypertension, diseases and glomerulopathies lithiasis. And another very specific, referring to the establishment and management of alternative methods of renal function (dialysis).

Through the records of dialysis and transplantation in the world, we can infer that there are three diseases that most often determine the loss of kidney function. They are glomerulopathies, hypertension and diabetes. While the world around them are diseases of higher responsibility in the kidney, its distribution is uneven, and especially Latin America has some substantial differences with other regions of the planet.

The glomerulopathies are pathological processes that affect the glomerulus. We can quote the acute nephritic syndrome (or acute glomerulonephritis) and chronic nephritic diseases. Nephrotic syndrome is a set of signs of patency of the glomerular capillary membrane.

The Latin American Registry of Dialysis and Transplantation accuses these diseases as the most frequent cause of loss of renal function. This means that in this region need to work much more intensively in the early diagnosis and treatment of glomerular diseases.

According to the type of kidney disease that denote the histological study, there are opportunities to implement more effective therapeutic regimens, and prevent the development of renal failure that requires alternative methods.

The drugs used to treat these pathologies are not exempt from certain risks and side effects, but today can be handled more safely and effectively.

Many patients reach a point where, without replacement of renal function, death would be inevitable. These techniques should be applied, however, the criterion of improving the quality of life for renal patients, and not just its survival when it is presented as a highly embarrassing situation.

This quality of life depends greatly on how prepared everyone is, and how much has been avoided and some risk factors in the pre-dialysis. If it comes to dialysis without hardly have known the disease itself, and significant damage in other organs and functions, quality of life is much less possible.

The treatment not only to try to maintain kidney function and eventually the loss, more control. It also means, for example in patients with diabetes, not to lose the vision nor any of its members, etc.. Many of these people are not meaning to be subjected to dialysis in order to increase their survival when the quality with which we live is extremely precarious.

Care and emotional and psychological support is essential to address the impact that means the replacement and its extension in time.

There is much to be done on prevention and treatment of kidney disease trying to avoid loss of function of this body, and new information will greatly help to achieve this.

Aluminum intoxication is the buildup of aluminum in the body, which in many cases may cause dialysis dementia and aluminum bone disease. Some of the early signs of dialysis dementia include slurring of words and difficulty in speaking, jerking muscle movements and even memory loss or difficulty thinking clearly. These symptoms may result from other causes unrelated to aluminum intoxication.

However, if you find that you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is imperative that you discuss them with your physician as soon as possible. Aluminum bone disease is caused by the buildup of aluminum in the body, which can hinder normal bone formation. Treatment for aluminum intoxication includes chelation therapy, which is a process that involves receiving an intravenous medication before or during dialysis. Treatment also usually includes reduction of exposure to the aluminum found in water.

Aluminum intoxication can be a serious problem for dialysis patients, but preventing it is rather simple as long as the proper precautions are taken.