Infantile rickets with server proximal renal tubular acidosis, responsive to vitamin D

Incidence of radiographically evident bone disease, nephrocalcinosis, and nephrolithiasis in various types of renal tubular acidosis

The syndrome of renal tubular acidosis has been categorized into three physiologic types that have different clinical findings and prognostic and therapeutic implications. We reviewed radiographs of the skeleton and kidneys in 92 patients (56 children and 36 adults) with renal tubular acidosis in order to determine whether the radiologic findings could be related to the type of syndrome. Forty-four patients had Type 1 renal tubular acidosis, 18 had Type 2, and 30 had Type 4. Evidence of skeletal abnormalities was uncommon (17 per cent) and was confined to patients who had the Type 2 disorder or azotemia. The children with Type 2 and skeletal abnormalities had rickets; the adults had osteopenia without pseudofractures. Nephrocalcinosis was evident in approximately one fourth of the group (29 per cent) and was restricted to patients with the Type 1 syndrome. In patients with Type 4, osteopenia was evident in 12 per cent, all of whom were azotemic. Our observations indicate that the radiographic manifestations of renal tubular acidosis are influenced by the physiologic type of renal tubular acidosis.

Aminoaciduria--its relationship to vitamin D and parathyroid hormone

Early reports of patients with metabolic bone diseases such as nutritional osteomalacia, Fanconi syndrome, indicated an association with aminoaciduria. This association has since been described in osteomalacia of G. I. or hepatic origin, secondary to anticonvulsant therapy, tumors, and chronic renal failure. Aminoaciduria also occurs in primary hyperparathyroidism. In nutritional osteomalacia, vitamin D deficiency was thought to be responsible for the renal tubular abnormality, since it responded to treatment with vitamin D. However, since the description of aminoaciduria in hyperparathyroidism, the literature has been divided concerning the etiology of aminoacidura in conditions associated with abnormal vitamin D metabolism because secondary hyperparathyroidism often occurs in these conditions. Recently, some cases of Fanconi syndrome and a case of tumor-associated osteomalacia have been described with low or absent plasma 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol levels, normal serum PTH, and aminoaciduria. In one of these cases, and more recently in patients with chronic renal failure, it has been demonstrated that treatment with 1,25(OH)2D3 can improve amino acid transport independently from changes in serum PTH levels. 1,25(OH)2D3 therefore normally opposes the aminoaciduric effect of PTH. This is an agreement with observations which demonstrate that 1,25(OH)2D3 also opposes the phosphaturic action of parathyroid hormone.