Aging and Renal Function Flashcards
What causes kidney compensatory hypertrophy?
- kidney donation
- loss of nephrons from glomerular disease
What causes hypertrophy to occur quicker?
High protein intake
How does the kidney compensate for increased workload?
through compensatory hypertrophy
As we age, renal blood flow and GFR….
As we age renal blood flow and GFR decrease as does the number and size of nephrons.
What is the most likely cause of decreased renal blood flow and decreased GFR as we age?
atherosclerosis which impairs renal blood flow
What is another common problem is the kidneys from aging?
Tubular atrophy is common as we age as well.
Nephron loss increases at the age of?
Nephron loss increases after the age of 50.
At what age is nephron loss decreased by 30-50 percent?
By the age of 75
What become sclerotic with age and others just hypertrophy?
Glomerular capillaries
How is urine excretion and specific gravity affected by aging?
We have a reduced ability to excrete urine and the specific gravity in the elderly is on the low side of normal.
What is not efficiently reabsorbed due to aging?
Glucose, bicarbonate, and sodium are not efficiently reabsorbed.
What is more common secondary to decreased excretion of urine?
hyperkalemia
Due to decreased reabsorption of glucose what happens?
More glucose is excreted in the urine because of decreased reabsorption and may NOT be an indicator of diabetes.
Are drugs cleared more easily in the elderly?
Drugs are NOT cleared as easily by the kidney and will accumulate.
Discuss vitamin D and the elderly?
The aged kidney is unable to efficiently activate vitamin D and therefore calcium absorption may be impaired. The elderly need more vitamin D to overcome this issue.
