The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is a common cause of hyponatremia. The syndrome manifests as an inability to excrete a free water load, with inappropriately concentrated urine and resultant hyponatremia, hypoosmolality, and natriuresis. SIADH occurs in a setting of normal blood volume, without evidence of renal disease or deficiency of thyroxine or cortisol. Although usually transient, SIADH may be chronic; it is often associated with drug use or a lesion in the central nervous system or lung. When the cardinal features of SIADH were defined by Bartter and Schwartz (1967), levels of AVP could not be measured. Subsequently, radioimmunoassays revealed that SIADH is usually associated with measurably elevated serum levels of AVP. Nephrogenic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (NSIAD) is characterized by a clinical picture similar to SIADH, but is associated with undetectable levels of AVP (Feldman et al., 2005).

Familial glucocorticoid deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by an inability of the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol in response to stimulation by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Affected individuals typically present within the first few months of life with symptoms related to cortisol deficiency, including failure to thrive, recurrent illnesses or infections, hypoglycemia, convulsions, and shock. The disease is life-threatening if untreated (summary by Meimaridou et al., 2012). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of familial glucocorticoid deficiency, see GCCD1 (202200).

Familial glucocorticoid deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting from defects in the action of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to stimulate glucocorticoid synthesis in the adrenal. Production of mineralocorticoids by the adrenal is normal. Patients present in early life with low or undetectable cortisol and, because of the failure of the negative feedback loop to the pituitary and hypothalamus, grossly elevated ACTH levels (summary by Clark et al., 2009). Genetic Heterogeneity of Familial Glucocorticoid Deficiency Familial glucocorticoid deficiency-2 (GCCD2; 607398) is caused by mutation in the MRAP gene (609196) on chromosome 21q22. GCCD3 (609197) has been mapped to chromosome 8q11.2-q13.2. GCCD4 with or without mineralocorticoid deficiency (614736) is caused by mutation in the NNT gene (607878) on chromosome 5p12. GCCD5 (617825) is caused by mutation in the TXNRD2 gene (606448) on chromosome 22q11.