SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- University of California-Santa Barbara scientists report a discovery at the cellular level that suggests possibilities for drug therapy for kidney disease.
More than 600,000 people in the United States are affected by the inherited kidney disease known as ADPKD, short for autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease. In the United States this is more than the number of individuals affected by cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, Down's syndrome and sickle cell anemia combined.
The disease is characterized by the proliferation of cysts that eventually debilitate the kidney, causing kidney failure in half of all patients by the time they reach age 50.
Currently no treatment exists to prevent or slow cyst formation, and most ADPKD patients require kidney transplants or life-long dialysis for survival.
The new discovery is detailed in the January issue of the journal Developmental Cell.
