can my medullary sponge kdneys be passed on to my children?

[kate3781]

i was born with (msk) medullary sponge kidney disease but the symptoms started when i was about 2 and 1/2 years old all my childhood i was told its a kidney infection or a water infection and it wasnt untill i was 19 years old and rushed into hospital after i had moved and the doctor said he wanted to test for kidney stones and yes a very large stone was found and a couple of weeks later i was diagnosed with msk but i have checked in my family and there is nobody with it but i was told that i could have it because i was born at only 26 weeks and my kidneys were not fully formed but i will know now but would like to know can i get my 2 children checked as they are age 5 years and 3 years and have not shown any sighns yet but would like to put my mind at rest as i dont want my kids going through 17 years of not finding out untill they are like 19 years of age if i can find out do i go to my gp or my consultant which i see every 5 months as i get pain every sigle day and before christmas i was in hospital about every 4-6 weeks with renal pain and really want to help my children before we get told they have it and there is nothing they can do?

[MSKshelly]

HI kate!  I am not sure if you are already a part of the MSK support group
here on Medhelp?  If so I apologize your name looks familiar but we are growing
so quickly I can't keep up!  If not I hope you will join us, you are not alone
and many of us are those who have had a tough time with the disease from stones
infection etc.I think it is the metabolic issues that many of us have along with the MSK that make it worse for some that others.
' Dr. Singh's answer is correct though most of us do not have
anyone that we know of in our family with the disease, however I think new testing had
made diagnosis more common in even in the last 20 years.

My doctor also said testing them would not be worthwhile.  I have shown my
children what my kidneys look like on an IVP etc and explained to them
that if they ever have a stone and an IVP test what to look for.so far only my oldest
child has ever had a stone or problems with infection.  My other daughter has had one
kidney infection.  I started having infections at age 3, but was not diagnosed until
2003, despite multiple stone surgeries.  I do think a symptom that might raise
questions would be if your kids have frequent UTI's or have them at a young age.

MY URO told me honestly though having them work on prevention of stones now
was a very good idea.  Drinking lots of water and not just sodas etc., he also said lemonade is a good way to help prevent them along with a B6 supplement and magnesium.  Of course it would be good to ask their doctor about taking supplements
dosages etc. but magnesium helps your body absorb the calcium better so less goes
in the urine and B7 binds with the oxalates so that it does form stones.

Again if your not a part of the MSK group on here I do hope you will join us!

Keep in touch!

Shelly

[Dr J Singh]

Hi,
Medullary sponge kidney, despite being a congenital disease is usually diagnosed in the second or third decade of life. This disease has got an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, hence you must have transmitted the genes to your kids. Their chances of having the disease are high but the severity can vary. Overall, the incidence of this disease is much more common amongst women and they tend to develop renal stones also much more common compared to men. Overall, the long term prognosis of this disease is good. Even if you go ahead for doing the diagnostic tests to find out if your kids have it won’t make much difference as it’s not going to change the natural course of the disease but still I’ll suggest you to go ahead and get an ultrasound done to diagnose the same.
I hope that helps. Please do keep me posted. Kind regards.