The Importance of Diet Control in Patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the first genetic cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Notwithstanding the relevant recent advances in the pharmacological approach to this disease, most ADPKD patients still progress toward ESRD, requiring chronic replacement therapies. The role of dietary intervention, either for the control of the disease progression and/or the development of the frequently associated clinical complications (primarily, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases) in ADPKD patients, has been the object of very few controlled studies, which furthermore gave contradictory results. Consequently, many questions on a number of very critical issues still remain unanswered. Beyond those related to the role of salt, protein, and phosphate dietary restriction (problems shared with most other chronic renal diseases), uncertainties still remain about the role, if any, of water intake, diet caloric intake, the type of diet proteins, the dietary acidic load, vitamin and mineral supplementations, and the content of specific dietary components (caffeine, resveratrol, curcumin, etc).

Furthermore, the problems related to malnutritional conditions that often occur in ADPKD patients should not be disregarded, particularly in the most advanced stages, due to the huge increase in the mass of the kidneys and, sometimes, of the liver, which can negatively impact on the gastrointestinal functions, deserving specific and complicate dietary approaches.

This shortage of information is particularly critical in light of the consideration that ADPKD, despite being a genetic disease and therefore already present and diagnosable since birth, manifests itself clinically in most cases only after the fourth decade of life. So, there would be a great deal of room for the use of therapeutic interventions which, if effective and implemented early, could have a considerable impact on the progression of the disease. Obviously, dietary interventions, if proven effective, would have undoubted advantages in terms of safety and cost as compared to pharmacological ones.

On this background, we decided to start with an Special Issue of Nutrients specifically directed at collecting any type of contribution (controlled interventional and/or observational studies; systematic reviews and/or metanalyses; case series; experimental studies; narrative reviews) dealing with one or more of the above-listed topics or any additional problem related to the dietary approach in ADPKD patients, at any stage of their disease.

We decided first to invite scholars who have well-recognized scientific experience in this field, but we will be delighted to receive contributions from any other scientist who is willing to share her/his results with the scientific community.

I am very excited and looking forward to receiving suggestions and contributions from you all.

Prof. Dr. Piergiorgio Messa
Guest Editor

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• autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)
• diet
• dietary habit
• dietary supplements
• diet composition
• water intake
• malnutrition
• obesity and ADPKD
• renal disease progression in ADPKD.