Day 79: World Kidney Day

In the general population, slightly more than 30 people in every 100,000 develop kidney failure each year. In the pediatric population—age 19 and under—the annual rate is only 1 or 2 new cases in every 100,000 children. In other words, adults are about 20 times more likely to develop kidney failure than children. The risk increases steadily with age.

African Americans in their late teens are three times more likely than Caucasians in the same age group to develop kidney failure. Diseases that damage the tiny blood vessels in the kidney are also more common in children of color. Moreover, boys are nearly twice as likely as girls to develop kidney failure from birth defects, polycystic kidney disease, or other hereditary diseases.

Nephrotic syndrome is a condition in which your kidneys “leak” protein from your blood into your urine.  In children, nephrotic syndrome may only be temporary, or it may be an early sign of kidney damage.

Healthy kidneys filter waste and extra fluid from your blood.  Your body gets rid of the waste and extra fluid as urine.  In nephrotic syndrome, some protein, which normally stays in your blood, gets removed along with the waste.  This is a problem, because your body needs protein. Protein acts like a sponge in your blood.  It holds fluid that your body needs inside your arteries and veins.  If there is not enough protein, the fluid can leak into other tissues in your body.  This can cause edema (swelling).  This usually happens around your eyes, face, belly, ankles and feet.

The most common type of nephrotic syndrome in children is called minimal change disease.  With minimal change disease, there are very tiny physical changes in the tiny filters (called glomeruli) in the kidneys.  These tiny changes can affect how the kidneys work. Minimal change disease can usually be treated with a medicine called prednisone, but this type of nephrotic syndrome can come back.  This called a “relapse.”  Most children will grow out of minimal change disease in their teen years.

The mission of the American Kidney Fund is to fight kidney disease through direct financial support to patients in need; health education; and prevention efforts. The American Kidney Fund envisions a world without kidney disease. As they move toward that goal, they work to achieve a nation in which kidney patients have access to the health care they need, and one in which there are far fewer people with kidney disease.

The American Kidney Fund was founded in 1971 to save the life of one person who needed help paying for dialysis. Forty years later, AKF has become the leading source of direct, treatment-related financial assistance to people in the United States who are living with chronic kidney disease. In 2010, AKF provided  treatment related financial assistance to more than 101,000 dialysis patients nationwide.

Donation: $5

To support American Kidney Fund, please visit:  http://www.kidneyfund.org