Chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease is persistent kidney damage or reduced kidney function lasting at least three months. It can impair waste removal and disrupt fluid, electrolyte, and hormone regulation.

Glomerular filtration rate: The volume of fluid filtered from blood by kidney glomeruli per unit time. Its sustained reduction is a central measure of kidney function and disease severity.
Kidney: A paired organ that filters blood and regulates waste, water, electrolytes, blood pressure, and hormone production. Chronic disease is defined by persistent damage to these organs or reduced function.
Chronic kidney disease staging: Classification of chronic kidney disease by filtration level and albuminuria category. Combining these measures helps estimate prognosis and guide monitoring and treatment.
Diabetic kidney disease: Kidney damage caused by diabetes, often involving albumin leakage and declining filtration. Diabetes is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease and can progressively injure glomeruli.
Albuminuria: An abnormal amount of the blood protein albumin in urine. It signals kidney damage and helps predict progression, even when filtration remains preserved.
Nephron: The kidney’s microscopic functional unit, consisting of a glomerulus and a tubule. Loss or injury of nephrons underlies the decline in filtration and regulation.
Renin–angiotensin system inhibitor: A medicine that blocks signaling in the renin–angiotensin system, including ACE inhibitors and ARBs. These drugs can lower albuminuria and protect kidney function in many affected patients.
Hypertensive kidney disease: Kidney damage associated with long-standing high blood pressure. Chronic pressure injury can scar kidney blood vessels and reduce filtration.
Glomerulosclerosis: Scarring of kidney glomeruli that reduces their ability to filter blood. This structural injury can directly lower filtration and contribute to chronic disease.
Estimated glomerular filtration rate: An estimate of kidney filtration calculated from blood markers and demographic variables. Clinical staging commonly uses this estimate to classify the degree of kidney impairment.

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