Fanconis Syndrome

Overview :

Normally, kidneys cleanse the blood and keep its salt, water, and acidity in balance, leaving what the body needs in the blood and putting what the body doesn't need into the urine, which leaves the body. This task is performed in two steps. First, the blood is filtered through a kidney structure with small holes that keep the cells and large molecules in the blood. Second, some of the small molecules in the filtrate, needed by the body, are reabsorbed and returned to the bloodstream.

This reabsorption step is defective in Fanconi's syndrome. As a consequence, substances that are normally reabsorbed, like glucose, amino acids, small proteins, water, calcium, potassium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and phosphate, are lost and the body becomes overly acidic.

Fanconi's syndrome is also known as Fanconi syndrome, renal Fanconi syndrome, Fanconi renaltubular syndrome, and Lignac-de Toni-Debré-Fanconi syndrome. Fanconi's anemia is, however, a totally different disease.