Type | Cause | Underlying Abnormality | Resulting Symptoms and Metabolic Abnormalities |
---|---|---|---|
1 | May be hereditary or may be triggered by an autoimmune disorder or certain drugs Cause usually not known, especially in women | Inability to excrete acid into the urine | High blood acidity Mild dehydration Low potassium levels in the blood, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis Fragile bones Bone pain Calcium deposits, leading to kidney stones |
2 | Usually caused by a hereditary disease such as Fanconi syndrome Fanconi Syndrome Fanconi syndrome is a rare disorder of kidney tubule function that results in excess amounts of glucose, bicarbonate, phosphates (phosphorus salts), uric acid, potassium, and certain amino acids... read more , hereditary fructose intolerance, Wilson disease Wilson Disease In Wilson disease, a rare hereditary disorder, the liver does not excrete excess copper into the bile as it normally does, resulting in accumulation of copper in the liver and liver damage.... read more , or oculocerebrorenal syndrome (Lowe syndrome) May also be caused by multiple myeloma Multiple Myeloma Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells in which abnormal plasma cells multiply uncontrollably in the bone marrow and occasionally in other parts of the body. People often have bone pain... read more , heavy metal poisoning, or certain drugs | Inability to reabsorb bicarbonate from the urine, so too much bicarbonate is excreted | High blood acidity Fragile bones Bone pain Mild dehydration Low potassium levels in the blood Decreased production of the active form of vitamin D |
4 | Not hereditary Caused by diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, chronic kidney disease Chronic Kidney Disease Chronic kidney disease is a slowly progressive (months to years) decline in the kidneys’ ability to filter metabolic waste products from the blood. Major causes are diabetes and high blood pressure... read more , or an obstruction in the urinary tract Urinary Tract Obstruction Urinary tract obstruction is a blockage that inhibits the flow of urine through its normal path (the urinary tract), including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Blockage can be complete... read more Worsened by certain drugs, including potassium-sparing diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin II receptor blockers | Deficiency of or inability to respond to aldosterone, a hormone that helps regulate potassium and sodium excretion by the kidneys | Mildly increased blood acidity and high potassium levels in the blood that rarely cause symptoms, unless the potassium level is unusually high (in that case, irregular heartbeats and muscle paralysis develop) |
Note: Type 3 is a mixture of Types 1 and 2 and is extremely rare. |