Title : High prevalence of renal salt wasting (RSW), identification of novel protein in RSW to simplify diagnosis of RSW and introducing new syndrome of RSW in Alzheimer’s disease
Abstract:
Background: The approach to hyponatremia is in a state of flux. Cerebral/renal salt wasting (RSW) is considered rare and presents with identical parameters as SIADH that create a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma, whether to fluid-restrict water-logged patients with SIADH or administer saline to dehydrated patients with RSW. We previously demonstrated the presence of a natriuretic protein (NP) in the plasma of RSW neurosurgical patients and in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Methods: We determined the causes of hyponatremia in the general hospital wards by utilizing a new algorithm and identified the NP in an RSW patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and another with AD by the same rat clearance methodology.
Results: Of 62 hyponatremic patients, (A) 17 patients (27%) had SIADH, (B) 19 patients (31%) had a reset osmostat (RO), (C) 24 patients (38%) had RSW, 21 without clinical evidence of cerebral disease, (D) 1 had Addison’s disease and (E) 1(1.6%) due to hydrochlorothiazide.
The SAH and AD sera had identical robust increases in FEsodium and especially FElithium, lithium serving as a marker of proximal tubule sodium transport. We identified haptoglobin related protein (Hpr) without signal peptide (Hpr-WSP) as the natriuretic protein. Recombinant Hpr with signal peptide had no natriuretic activity.
Conclusions: RSW is common, cerebral salt wasting should be changed to renal salt wasting. Hpr-WSP may be the NF that causes C-RSW, can serve as a biomarker to differentiate RSW from SIADH on first encounter, need to develop inhibitor to HPR-WSP, introduces a new syndrome of RSW in AD and can effectively treat congestive heart failure when combined with distal diuretic.
Keywords: renal salt wasting; haptoglobin related protein; hyponatremia