Glossary

A type of drug that can be used to treat high blood pressure but also used to reduce the protein that kidneys leak with certain kidney diseases.  This type of drug includes enalapril, lisinopril and ramipril.

Also called acute renal failure.  Sudden and temporary loss of kidney function.

A term that refers to how well your dialysis is working. To measure adequacy, tests are carried out to see if enough fluid and waste products are being removed from your blood.

A type of protein that occurs in the blood.

A hormone that affects how much salt and water the kidney tubules excrete.

An artificial type of vitamin D which is suitable for people with chronic kidney disease because it does not need the kidney to be able to make it work.

A kidney donor who gives a kidney to someone they have never met or even heard of.

Substances from which proteins are built up.

A reduction in the quantity of the oxygen carrying pigment haemoglobin in the blood

An abbreviation for Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody. This is a type of antibody that is associated with some types of vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels) and glomerulonephritis (inflammation of kidneys).

A type of X-ray that uses a special dye to show the blood vessels. For a renal angiogram, the dye is put into the blood vessels via a tube that is inserted into the groin and passed up to the kidneys.

The use of a balloon to stretch up the narrowing in a blood vessel during an angiogram.

A hormone produced by the kidney that helps to regulate blood pressure.

A drug used to treat infections caused by bacteria.

A protein that is recognised by the immune system (the body's natural defence system). The body does not usually react to antigens from its own cells, but should react vigorously to antigens from bacteria and other invaders. Sometimes the body will react to  its own antigens.  This is called auto-immune disease and can cause some types of kidney disease. The immune system reacts to antigens on a transplant and can lead to transplant rejection.

Abbreviation for Automated Peritoneal Dialysis. A form of peritoneal dialysis that uses a machine to drain the dialysis fluid out of the patient and replace it with fresh solution.  It usually takes places with several cycles overnight.

A vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the body.

A disease that occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the body itself.

The way in which some genetic diseases are passed on to children.  An autosomal recessive disease is caused when someone has two copies of a faulty gene, one from each parent.  Parents will have one healthy and one faulty gene and are known as carriers.

Surgical connection of an artery directly to a vein, usually in the forearm, created in patients who will need hemodialysis.