Bartter’s syndrome

Bartter’s syndrome /bär″tərz/ [Frederick C. Bartter, American physiologist, 1914–1983] , autosomal-recessive renal tubular disorders characterized by hypokalemia, hypochloremia, metabolic alkalosis, and hyperreninemia with normal blood pressure. There are excessive urinary losses of sodium, chloride, and potassium. The syndrome is traditionally classified into three main clinical variants: neonatal (or antenatal) Bartter syndrome, classic Bartter syndrome, and Gitelman syndrome. Early signs in childhood are abnormal physical growth (dwarfism) and cognitive impairment, often accompanied by chronic hypokalemia and alkalosis.