Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Endocrinology
Volume 2013, Article ID 524647, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/524647
Case Report
Autosomal Dominant Pseudohypoaldosteronism Type 1 in an
Infant with Salt Wasting Crisis Associated with Urinary Tract
Infection and Obstructive Uropathy
Sasigarn A. Bowden,
1
Corin Cozzi,
2
Scott E. Hickey,
3
Devon Lamb Thrush,
4
Caroline Astbury,
4
and Sushma Nuthakki
2
1
Division of Endocrinology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital/Te Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
2
Division of Neonatology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital/Te Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
3
Division of Molecular & Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children’s Hospital/Te Ohio State University College
of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
4
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital/Te Ohio State University College of Medicine,
Columbus, OH 43205, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Sasigarn A. Bowden; sasigarn.bowden@nationwidechildrens.org
Received 20 September 2013; Accepted 4 December 2013
Academic Editors: M. A. Boyanov, O. Isozaki, T. Nagase, and T. Usui
Copyright © 2013 Sasigarn A. Bowden et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Type 1 pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA1) is a salt wasting syndrome caused by renal resistance to aldosterone. Primary renal
PHA1 or autosomal dominant PHA1 is caused by mutations in mineralocorticoids receptor gene (NR3C2), while secondary PHA1
is frequently associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) and/or urinary tract malformations (UTM). We report a 14-day-old
male infant presenting with severe hyperkalemia, hyponatremic dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and markedly elevated serum
aldosterone level, initially thought to have secondary PHA1 due to the associated UTI and posterior urethral valves. His serum
aldosterone remained elevated at 5 months of age, despite resolution of salt wasting symptoms. Chromosomal microarray analysis
revealed a deletion of exons 3–5 in NR3C2 in the patient and his asymptomatic mother who also had elevated serum aldosterone
level, confrming that he had primary or autosomal dominant PHA1. Our case raises the possibility that some patients with
secondary PHA1 attributed to UTI and/or UTM may instead have primary autosomal dominant PHA1, for which genetic testing
should be considered to identify the cause, determine future recurrence risk, and possibly prevent the life-threatening salt wasting
in a subsequent family member. Future clinical research is needed to investigate the potential overlapping between secondary PHA1
and primary autosomal dominant PHA1.
1. Introduction
Pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) is a disorder caused by
aldosterone resistance with subsequent impaired sodium
reabsorption and potassium excretion. Te broad category of
PHA includes PHA type 1 (PHA1) and PHA type 2 (PHA2,
also known as Gordon’s syndrome or familial hyperkalemic
hypertension). PHA1 is subdivided into primary (genetic)
and secondary (or transient) forms. Primary PHA1 has two
clinically and genetically distinct forms [1]: (1) the autoso-
mal dominant or sporadic form (also called renal form),
caused by mutations in the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR)
coding gene NR3C2 [2] and (2) the autosomal recessive or
generalized PHA1, which is caused by mutations in genes
encoding subunits of the epithelial sodium channel [3]. Te
secondary (transient) PHA1 has been described in infants
sufering from urinary tract malformations or urinary tract
infections (UTI) or both [4–12]. We present the frst case
report of autosomal dominant PHA1 with an intragenic dele-
tion of NR3C2, presenting with salt wasting crisis associated
with UTI and posterior urethral valves, thereby mimicking
secondary PHA1.