BACKGROUND Chronic hypokalemia is known to induce renal structural and functional abnormality. The former includes induction of renal cyst formation and interstitial fibrosis while the latter entails urine-concentrating defect. However, these hypokalemia-mediated changes occur in a handful of conditions including primary aldosteronism, distal renal tubular acidosis, Liddle's disease, apparent m...

Problem statement: In our earlier study, dietary pectin has been shown to promote nephrocalcinosis in rats when compared with the feeding of cellulose. It was not known whether this pectin effect relates to its structure or to its monosaccharide component, galacturonic acid. Approach: The effects of dietary pectin, galacturonic acid and glucose on kidney calcification were studied in female rat...

X-linked dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is the most prevalent genetic form of hypophosphatemic rickets. Standard treatment of XLH patients includes long-term administration of phosphate and calcitriol. Treated patients usually respond well to the conventional therapy and demonstrate amelioration of rachitic symptoms and improved growth. However, long-term administration of phosphate an...

Sir, In a previous communication, about 10 years ago, we presented two patients with erythrocytosis associated with renal tubular acidosis type-I (RTA-I). At that time their work-up had revealed severe metabolic acidosis, alkaline urine, hypokalaemia, hypocitraturia, extensive nephro-calcinosis and increased serum eythropoietin levels, despite abnormally elevated haematocrit values. Therefore, ...

An eight-month-old boy who presented with a 15-day history of vomiting was revealed to be suffering from urinary tract infection and nephrocalcinosis caused by vitamin D intoxication. During the treatment of vitamin D intoxication (alendronate, 5 mg/day), he developed urinary tract infection and septic arthritis of the left hip joint. Escherchia coli was isolated from his blood, urine, and join...

Gout is a systemic, metabolic disease that typically affects the peripheral joints. We describe an unusual presentation of gout affecting the facet joints and costovertebral joints in the thoracic and lumbar spine. A 54-year old man presents to the emergency department with increasing swelling and pain at the left elbow for one week and difficulty ambulating. The imaging work-up included plain ...

Bartter syndrome (BS) type 1 (OMIM #601678) is a hereditary salt-losing renal tubular disorder characterized by hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, polyuria, recurrent vomiting, and growth retardation. It is caused by loss-of-function mutations of the SLC12A1 gene, encoding the furosemide-sensitive Na-K-Cl cotransporter. Recently, a phenotypic variability has been...

Primary hyperoxaluria is a genetic disorder in glyoxylate metabolism that leads to systemic overproduction of oxalate. Functional deficiency of alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase in this disease leads to recurrent nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, systemic oxalosis, and kidney failure. We present a young woman with end-stage renal disease who received a kidney allograft and experienced early ...