[Pendred's syndrome: a cause of goiter associated with deafness].

Pendred's syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder leading to congenital sensorineural hearing loss and a variable degree of goiter due to reduced iodine organification. The cause of this disease is dysfunction of an anion transporter protein located on the apical membrane of thyrocytes, called pendrin, which is also found in the kidney and cochlea. Molecular analysis of the gene is useful to identify other affected family members and provide proper genetic advice and early diagnosis in descendants.