Salt-Losing Nephritis Simulating Adrenocortical Insufficiency

Abstract

THORN, Koepf and Clinton,¹ in 1944, reported 2 cases of renal failure simulating adrenocortical insufficiency. They called this syndrome "salt-losing nephritis." Symptoms such as asthenia, weight loss, nausea, vomiting and hypotension were observed and attributed to an excessive loss of sodium and chloride in the urine. Such salt loss was not due to a deficiency of adrenocortical hormones but to disease of the renal tubule, the end-organ on which such hormones act in controlling the reabsorption of sodium and chloride from the glomerular filtrate. The symptoms due to the salt loss were relieved by the administration of sodium, chloride and . . .