Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common hereditary renal diseases, which may present important clinical extrarenal vascular manifestations, such as intracranial and aortic aneurysms and artery dissections. We report the case of a 66-year-old male chronic renal out-of-dialysis patient, with dominant polycystic kidney disease, presenting an asymptomatic infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm diagnosed by routine ultrasonography, submitted to successful elective surgery. ADPKD is a genetic syndrome, associated with PDK1 and PDK2 genes on chromosome 16. The expression of these genes in the vessel walls leads to vessel wall weakening, favoring aneurysm formation. In addition, metalloproteinase production by kidney tubules could be related to vascular diseases in ADPKD patients. These are important factors of early mortality and of morbidity in patients with ADPKD, thus the use of equipped propedeutics and early treatment are indicated, as these manifestations are usually asymptomatic.
Aortic aneurysm; autosomal dominant polycystic kidney; chronic renal insufficiency
