Concept
Cerebral salt-wasting syndrome (CSWS), also written cerebral salt wasting syndrome, is a rare endocrine condition featuring a low blood sodium concentration and dehydration in response to injury (trauma) or the presence of tumors in or surrounding the brain. In this condition, the kidney is functioning normally but excreting excessive sodium. The condition was initially described in 1950. Its cause and management remain controversial. In the current literature across several fields, including neurology, neurosurgery, nephrology, and critical care medicine, there is controversy over whether CSWS is a distinct condition, or a special form of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). Signs and symptoms of CSWS include large amounts of urination (polyuria, defined as over three liters of urine output over 24 hours in an adult), high amounts of sodium in the urine, low blood sodium concentration, excessive thirst (polydipsia), extreme salt cravings, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (dysautonomia), and dehydration. Patients often self-medicate by consuming high amounts of sodium and by dramatically increasing their water intake. Advanced symptoms include muscle cramps, lightheadedness, dizziness or vertigo, feelings of anxiety or panic, increased heart rate or slowed heart rate, low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension which can result in fainting. Other symptoms frequently associated with dysautonomia include headaches, pallor, malaise, facial flushing, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, acid reflux, visual disturbances, numbness, nerve pain, trouble breathing, chest pain, loss of consciousness, and seizures. Although the pathophysiology of CSWS is not fully understood, it is usually caused by neurological injury, most commonly aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is also reported after surgery for pituitary tumor, acoustic neuroma, calvarial remodeling, glioma and with infections including tuberculous meningitis, viral meningitis, metastatic carcinoma, and cranial trauma.
Sylvie Roke, Nikolay Smolentsev