Methods and devices for treating polycystic kidney disease and its symptoms

A method for treating hypertension,

• the method comprising:
• selecting a patient diagnosed with hypertension;
• positioning a distal end of a catheter into an interior of the patient's kidney, wherein the positioning further comprises
• advancing a catheter through a urinary tract of a patient toward a renal pelvis of the patient such that a distal end of the catheter is positioned within the renal pelvis or ureteral pelvic junction adjacent the renal pelvis,
• providing one or more electrodes at the distal end of the catheter, the one or more electrodes being in communication with a radio frequency energy source,
• causing the collapse of a wall of the renal pelvis and contemporaneous removal of fluid, if any, in the kidney such that renal pelvic wall tissue of the renal pelvis comes into contact with the one or more electrodes;
• and
• delivering an amount of energy through a wall of the kidney to denervate adjacent nerves to treat the hypertension, wherein the delivering further comprises
• applying radio frequency energy to the one or more electrodes to disrupt and/or ablate afferent nerves in the renal pelvic wall tissue proximate the respective locations at which the renal pelvic wall tissue contacts the one or more electrodes,
• wherein applying radio frequency energy disrupts and/or ablates primarily afferent renal nerves contained in the renal pelvic wall tissue,
• whereby, by disrupting and/or ablating the primarily afferent renal nerves, the patient's efferent nerve activity is altered, and
• whereby altering the patient's efferent nerve activity causes a reduction in the patient's blood pressure.