ARPKD Database Study

Hepato-renal fibrocystic diseases (HRFD) is a term developed that encompasses rare diseases such as Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD), and other diseases with common features (Joubert syndrome, Bardet Biedl syndrome, Meckel-Gruber syndrome, congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF), Caroli syndrome (CS), polycystic liver disease, oro-facial-digital syndrome, nephronophithisis (NPHP), and glomerulocystic Kidney Disease). The lack of enough routinely available resources for these diseases to be well diagnosed and treated, would be best resolved by coordinated case accrual and sharing of clinical data and bio-specimens (DNA and tissues) among participating institutions, thereby leading to the centralization and sharing of clinical and genetic information, as well as bio-materials, providing an important engine for more rapid research progress and community understanding through