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A urinary calcium-citrate index for the evaluation of nephrolithiasis.

We have performed a multivariate analysis of urine abnormalities in patients with calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis, in which effects of gender were also considered. The characteristic of patients that most clearly sets them apart from normal people is a high level of urine calcium for any given level of urine citrate. Other urine measurements cannot improve upon the separation between patients and normals provided by urine calcium and citrate, and their abnormal relationship to each other. Normal women have higher urine citrate and lower urine calcium than normal men or patients of either sex; normal men differ from stone forming men only moderately. Direct measurements of supersaturation are not helpful in distinguishing between patients and normals, once calcium and citrate have been considered. From our analysis, we have derived a new index for evaluating the significance of urine calcium and citrate levels that seems to offer a better basis for clinical diagnosis than criteria presently in use.

Calcium↗

Successful management of uric acid nephrolithiasis with potassium citrate.

Eighteen patients with uric acid nephrolithiasis (six with uric acid stones alone and 12 with both uric acid and calcium stones) underwent long-term treatment (1 to 5.33 years, mean of 2.78 years) with potassium citrate (30 to 80 mEq/day, usually 60 mEq/day). Urinary pH increased from low (5.30 +/- 0.31 SD) to normal (6.19 to 6.46) during treatment. Urinary content of undissociated uric acid, which was high to begin with at 204 +/- 82 mg/day, decreased to the normal range (64 to 108 mg/day) following treatment. Urinary citrate rose from 503 +/- 225 mg/day to 852 to 998 mg/day. Urinary saturation of calcium oxalate significantly declined with potassium citrate treatment. New stone formation rate declined from 1.20 +/- 1.68 stones/year to 0.01 +/- 0.04 stones/year (P less than 0.001 by chi square). Remission was experienced in 94.4% of patients, and the group stone formation rate declined by 99.2%. Detailed case reports were obtained in five patients showing different responses between sodium alkali and potassium alkali treatment. All five patients had persistently low urinary pH (typically less than 5.5) and normouricosuria, and four had hyperuricemia. Before treatment, they had stones surgically removed or spontaneously passed, which were pure uric acid in composition. When sodium alkali was give (as bicarbonate or citrate, 60 to 118 mEq/day), new stone formation continued in four patients, and a radiolucent (uric acid) calculus become "calcified" in the remaining patient. The stone analysis disclosed calcium oxalate in five patients and calcium phosphate in three patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Tubulopathy in nephrolithiasis: consequence rather than cause.

To address whether a renal tubular dysfunction is encountered in a particular patient subgroup with urolithiasis, the following parameters of tubular function were measured in urine taken in the morning from 214 stone formers after fasting: pH, excretion of lysozyme and gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-GT); fractional excretion (FE) of glucose, insulin, Mg, K, and HCO3 after an alkali loading; and the renal threshold for phosphate (TmP/GFR). The following diagnoses were made in the patient group: primary hyperparathyroidism (N = 8), medullary sponge kidneys (N = 21), hyperuricemia (N = 10), cystinuria (N = 2), struvite stone disease (N = 6), idiopathic hypercalciuria of the absorptive (N = 25), dietary (N = 69) or renal (N = 7) type, and normocalciuric idiopathic urolithiasis (N = 66). In 31% of the patients TmP/GFR was below 0.80 mmole/liter and in 13% of the patients, FE HCO3 after alkali loading was above normal. Urinary excretion of lysozyme and that of gamma-GT both were elevated in 17% of the patients. FE glucose, FE insulin, FE Mg, and FE K were elevated in 8, 9, 3, and 7% of the patients, respectively. This study demonstrates that a significant number of stone formers present with signs of renal tubular dysfunction, primarily involving the proximal tubule since apparent leaks of phosphate and of bicarbonate were most frequently encountered. The defects were not specific for a given etiologic group of patients; on the other hand, occurrence was related to the presence of large stones in the pyelocaliceal system at the time data were gathered. Taken together these data suggest that the tubulopathy in nephrolithiasis is the consequence rather than the cause of the stone.

Adolescent↗

Reduced glomerular filtration rate and hypercalciuria in primary struvite nephrolithiasis.

Struvite nephrolithiasis is caused by infection with bacteria that possess the enzyme urease, and convert urea to ammonia that raises urine pH and crystallizes with magnesium and trivalent phosphate ion. Of the 75 of our 1431 stone patients with struvite stones 52 were women. Struvite stones occurred almost exclusively in women; a minority of women and most men had mixed stones of struvite and calcium oxalate. Increased serum creatinine levels and reduced creatinine clearance were common in patients with struvite stones, not in those with mixed stones; both were rare in calcium stone disease. Men and women with mixed struvite, calcium oxalate stones were hypercalciuric, but women with struvite stones were not. Patients with mixed stones usually had initial symptoms of stone passage, and were less likely to need surgery, including nephrectomy, or to form contralateral stones. Patients with struvite stones usually presented with infection or no symptom, not passage. We conclude that struvite stones occur in two forms. The struvite stone is a disease of women, presumably occurring de novo from infection. The mixed stones occur in both sexes, presumably from secondary infection in hypercalciuric patients who begin with calcium-oxalate stone disease.

Blood Pressure↗

Pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis post-partial ileal bypass surgery: case-control study. The POSCH Group.

Between 1975 and 1983, 838 patients were randomized into the Program on the Surgical Control of Hyperlipidemias (POSCH) trial: 417 to standard medical care and 421 to partial ileal bypass (PIB) surgery. During the course of the trial, an increased incidence of kidney stone formation was found in the surgery group (4%/year) as compared to the control group (0.4%/year). A matched triplet case-control study was conducted to assess the possible causes for the increased incidence of kidney stones. Three groups were studied: PIB stone-formers (S); PIB non-stone formers (N); and non-PIB, non-stone formers in the control group (C). Initially, 162 patients (54 triplets) were selected. Ten percent of the patients declined to participate which resulted in a sample size of 146 patients. The PIB patients had statistically significant (P less than 0.05) lower levels of serum vitamin D metabolites; lower urine volume, pH, citrate, magnesium, carbon dioxide, and sulfate, and higher urinary oxalate, ammonia and relative supersaturation for calcium oxalate and uric acid than the control patients. Although S and N had similar results, those S with no prior history of stones had a higher calcium oxalate supersaturation than similar N with a negative prior history of stones (P less than 0.025). Based on these results, all PIB patients appear to be at risk for kidney stone formation. The combination of reduced urinary volume and calcium oxalate precipitation inhibitor substance with increased calcium oxalate relative supersaturation produced an increase in nephrolithiasis risk in the PIB groups.

Adult↗

Abnormal erythrocyte and renal frusemide-sensitive sodium transport in idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis.

1. Anomalous transmembrane anion transport has been observed in erythrocytes of patients with idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis. 2. To verify whether cation transport is also abnormal, we investigated the frusemide-sensitive Na+ efflux from Na(+)-loaded erythrocytes and the natriuretic response to acute intravenous frusemide administration in calcium oxalate renal stone formers. 3. Frusemide administration induced a statistically significant smaller increase in the fractional excretion of Na+ in patients than in control subjects. Abnormal kinetic properties of erythrocyte Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport were observed in approximately 60% of stone formers. The Km for Na+ of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- co-transport correlated with urinary Ca2+ excretion. 4. The abnormal kinetic properties of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- co-transport may be relevant for stone formation, hampering renal Ca2+ reabsorption in the distal nephron and determining critical physicochemical conditions for calcium/oxalate crystallization.

Adult↗

Effects of mineral composition of drinking water on risk for stone formation and bone metabolism in idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis.

1. To assess whether the mineral content of drinking water influences both risk of stone formation and bone metabolism in idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis, 21 patients were switched from their usual home diets to a 10 mmol calcium, low-oxalate, protein-controlled diet, supplemented with 21 of three different types of mineral water. Drinking water added 1, 6 and 20 mmol of calcium and 0.5, 10 and 50 mmol of bicarbonate respectively to the controlled diet. 2. The three controlled study periods lasted 1 month each and were separated by a 20 day washout interval. Blood and urine chemistries, including intact parathyroid hormone, calcitriol and two markers of bone resorption, were performed at the end of each study period. The stone-forming risk was assessed by calculating urine saturation with calcium oxalate (beta CaOx), calcium phosphate (beta bsh) and uric acid (beta UA). 3. The addition of any mineral water produced the expected increase in urine output and was associated with similar decreases in beta CaOx and beta UA, whereas beta bsh varied marginally. These equal decreases in beta CaOx, however, resulted from peculiar changes in calcium, oxalate and citrate excretion during each study period. The increase in overall calcium intake due to different drinking water induced modest increases in calcium excretion, whereas oxalate excretion tended to decrease. The changes in oxalate excretion during any one study period compared with another were significantly related to those in calcium intake. Citrate excretion was significantly higher with the high-calcium, alkaline water. 4. Parathyroid hormone, calcitriol and markers of bone resorption increased when patients were changed from the high-calcium, alkaline to the low-calcium drinking water. 5. We suggest that overall calcium intake may be tailored by supplying calcium in drinking water. Adverse effects on bone turnover with low-calcium diets can be prevented by giving high-calcium, alkaline drinking water, and the stone-forming risk can be decreased as effectively as with low-calcium drinking water.

Adult↗

Association between vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and tubular citrate handling in calcium nephrolithiasis.

OBJECTIVES: Hypocitraturia is a risk factor for calcium nephrolithiasis. 1,25(OH)2D3 influences renal citrate handling and enhances citraturia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D receptor (VDR) allelic variant and urinary citrate excretion in recurrent stone formers (SF) patients. DESIGN: Case-control study. SUBJECTS: A total of 220 recurrent calcium oxalate SF patients and 114 healthy control (C) subjects were enrolled for this study. Subjects with urinary tract infections, hyperparathyroidism, cystinuria >70 micromol/24 h, gouty diathesis, renal tubular acidosis, renal failure, chronic diarrhoeal states, intake of thiazide diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors, glucocorticoids or oestrogens were excluded. A standard constant diet was given for 7 days. The 24-h urinary citrate excretion and the active tubular reabsorption of filtered citrate (Rcit) were evaluated. Hypocitraturia was defined as a urinary citrate excretion lower than 1.7 mmol day-1. Stone formers patients and C were genotyped for BsmI and TaqI VDR alleles. Contingency table chi-square tests were used to compare genotype frequencies in hypocitraturic SF patients, normocitraturic SF and C. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypocitraturia in SF patients was 32.7% (72 of 200). Hypocitraturia in these patients resulted from excessive Rcit of a normal load of citrate. We found a different distribution (P < 0.05) of BsmI and TaqI VDR genotypes in hypocitraturic SF patients compared with normocitraturic SF and C. In particular, the prevalence of bb and TT VDR genotypes in hypocitraturic SF was significantly higher than in normocitraturic SF and C. CONCLUSIONS: These results point to a genetic association between BsmI and TaqI VDR polymorphisms and idiopathic hypocitraturia in calcium-oxalate recurrent SF patients.

Adult↗

Calcium nephrolithiasis and distal tubular acidosis in type 1 glycogen storage disease.

A 36-year-old man was admitted to hospital due to right flank pain as a result of ureteral stones. He had been followed up for type 1 glycogen storage disease since the age of 11 years. He had four episodes of spontaneous stone birth during the previous 2 years, and each stone was composed mainly of calcium oxalate. Intravenous pyelography showed right hydronephrosis due to ureteral stones and bilateral multiple renal stones. We carried out transurethral ureterolithotripsy (TUL) on the right ureteral stones. The composition was a mixture of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. Laboratory evaluation demonstrated the association of distal renal tubular acidosis (RTA). These observations suggest that hypocitraturia and distal RTA are strongly correlated to recurrence of calcium nephrolithiasis. The patient's serum uric acid and urinary citrate excretion levels normalized after allopurinol and potassium citrate administration.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular↗

Prophylaxis of calcium oxalate stones by Herniaria hirsuta on experimentally induced nephrolithiasis in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prophylactic potential of a herbal decoction from Herniaria hirsuta, a medicinal plant widely used in Morocco to treat kidney stones, by assessing the effect of oral administration in experimentally induced calcium oxalate (CaOx) nephrolithiasis in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two groups of six rats each were rendered nephrolithic by treating with ethylene glycol 0.75% and ammonium chloride 1% for 3 days, and then ethylene glycol only for 3 weeks. Maintained on ethylene glycol, one group of rats was also given 1 mL/day of the plant decoction, while the others received 1 mL of water instead for 2 weeks. Urine samples (24 h) were collected individually at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days for physicochemical analysis. On completing the treatment the kidneys were collected and analysed by light microscopy. RESULTS: The water intake and diuresis decreased in the treated rats; there was no significant difference in urinary pH between the groups. Urinary chemistry was apparently unaffected by the plant extract, except for the magnesium content, which was higher in treated rats. Crystalluria was characterized by the excretion of large CaOx monohydrate and dihydrate crystals in untreated, but smaller crystals in treated rats. The histology showed large deposits of CaOx crystals in all parts of the kidney in untreated rats but with almost no deposits in those of treated rats. CONCLUSION: H. hirsuta has an impressive prophylactic effect on CaOx stones in nephrolithic rats; the effect did not seem to be mediated by biochemical or diuretic changes.

Animals↗

Reduced crystallization inhibition by urine from men with nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Human urine is known to inhibit growth, aggregation, nucleation, and cell adhesion of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals, the main solid phase of human kidney stones. This study tests the hypothesis that low levels of inhibition are present in men with calcium oxalate stones and could therefore promote stone production. METHODS: In 17 stone-forming men and 17 normal men that were matched in age to within five years, we studied the inhibition by dialyzed urine proteins of COM growth, aggregation, and binding to cultured BSC-1 renal cells, as well as whole urine upper limits of metastability (ULM) for COM and calcium phosphate (CaP) in relationship to the corresponding supersaturation (SS). RESULTS: Compared with normals, patient urine showed reduced COM growth inhibition and reduced ULM in relationship to SS. When individual defects were considered, 15 of the 17 patients were abnormal in one or more inhibition measurements. ULM and growth inhibition defects frequently coexisted. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced COM growth and CaP and CaOx ULM values in relationship to SS are a characteristic of male stone formers. Both defects could promote stones by facilitating crystal nucleation and growth. Abnormal inhibition may be a very important cause of human nephrolithiasis.

Calcium↗

Evaluation of the calcium-sensing receptor gene in idiopathic hypercalciuria and calcium nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Calcium urolithiasis is in part genetically determined and associated with idiopathic hypercalciuria. METHODS: We have used a candidate gene approach to determine whether the calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) gene is linked to idiopathic hypercalciuria and calcium urolithiasis in a cohort of French Canadian sibships with multiple affected members (64 sibships from 55 pedigrees yielding 359 affected sibling pairs with > or =1 stone episode). RESULTS: Using nonparametric linkage analysis with various intragenic and flanking markers, we showed that the CaR gene could be excluded as a major gene for hypercalciuric stone formation. We excluded the CaR (lod score <-2) at lambdas values of 1.5, 1.68, and 2.6 for sib pairs concordant for at least one stone passage, at least two stone passages, and at least one stone passage and calciuria above the 75th percentile, respectively. Quantitative trait linkage analyses did not suggest that the CaR gene was linked to biochemical markers of idiopathic hypercalciuria. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that genetic variants of the CaR gene are not associated with idiopathic hypercalciuria and calcium nephrolithiasis in this population of French Canadians.

Calcium↗

Altered gene expression in kidneys of mice with 2,8-dihydroxyadenine nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: We have developed a knockout mouse model for adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency, a condition that often leads to 2,8-dihydroxyadenine (DHA) nephrolithiasis in humans. Aprt knockout male mice develop severe renal damage by three months of age, but this is strain specific. Renal damage in female mice is less pronounced than in males. The gene level changes that promote renal injury in APRT-deficient mice are not known. METHODS: We used mRNA differential display polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR) to analyze renal gene expression changes in APRT-deficient male and female mice (strain C3H) compared with age- and sex-matched Aprt heterozygote controls. The differentially amplified bands were reamplified, cloned, sequenced, and queried against the National Center for Biotechnology Information nonredundant databases using the Basic Alignment Search Tool. Relative quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm the results of DD-PCR for a selected number of genes in one-, three-, and six-month-old male and female mice. RESULTS: Sixty-three differentially amplified bands were identified, including 21 for known genes, and 8 of these were examined further. In three-month-old APRT-deficient male mice, the expression of C10 was increased tenfold, and there was a fourfold to sevenfold increase in the expression of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS-1), MGP (matrix Gla protein), and lysyl oxidase (LOX). The expression of cholecystokinin-A receptor (CCKAR), imprinted multimembrane-spanning polyspecific transporter-like gene 1 (IMPT-1), and kidney androgen-regulated protein (KAP) was diminished twofold to fourfold, but there was little or no change in the expression of organic anion transporter (OATP). Except for a more than tenfold increase in C10 expression and up to tenfold decrease in KAP expression, APRT-deficient female mice did not show significant changes in gene expression compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that (1) there are sex-related differences in gene expression in DHA lithiasis, possibly caused by increased deposition of DHA crystals in male compared with female kidneys; and (2) the expression of certain genes (for example, C10) may simply be an indication of nonspecific cellular stimulation and may not be related to renal injury.

Adenine↗

Frequency of renal phosphate leak among patients with calcium nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Nephrolithiasis is a frequent disorder affecting 10 to 15% of the population in Europe and the United States. More than 80% of renal stones are made of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. The main identified risks for calcium renal stone formation are hypercalciuria and urinary saturation. A urine phosphate (Pi) loss is often associated with hypercalciuria; furthermore, hyperphosphaturia increases urinary saturation. METHODS: To determine whether urinary phosphate loss is associated with calcium urolithiasis, we measured renal Pi threshold (TmPi) in 207 stone formers with normal parathyroid hormone (PTH) serum concentration and in 105 control subjects. RESULTS: The TmPi followed a normal distribution in both groups. The mean TmPi was significantly lower in stone formers versus controls (0.72 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.87 +/- 0.18 mmol/L, P < 0.0001) because of a shift to the left of the TmPi distribution curve in the stone former population, with no evidence for bimodal distribution. Five percent of the controls had a TmPi <0.63 versus 19% of the stone formers. Daily urinary calcium excretion was significantly higher in stone formers than in controls. Calcium excretion was also significantly higher in stone formers with TmPi <0.63 mmol/L compared with those with TmPi > or =0.63. Serum PTH and ionized calcium concentrations were not different in stone formers and in control subjects, whatever the TmPi value. CONCLUSIONS: : A low TmPi is more frequently encountered in stone formers with a normal PTH concentration than in control subjects and is associated with a high urinary Ca excretion. The hypophosphatemia induced by a renal phosphate leak may predispose the subject to calcium stone formation by increasing the serum calcitriol level, calcium excretion, and urinary saturation.

Adult↗

Reduced crystallization inhibition by urine from women with nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Human urine is known to inhibit growth, aggregation, nucleation, and cell adhesion of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals, the main solid phase of human kidney stones. This study tested the hypothesis that low levels of inhibition are present in women with calcium oxalate stones and, therefore, could promote stone production. METHODS: In 17 stone-forming women and 17 normal women matched in age within five years, inhibition by dialyzed urine proteins of COM growth and aggregation was examined, as well as whole urine upper limits of metastability (ULM) for COM and calcium phosphate (CaP) in relation to the corresponding supersaturation (SS). RESULTS: Compared to normals, patient urine showed a reduced ULM in relation to SS. In contrast to men, there was no difference in growth inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced CaP and CaOx ULM values in relation to SS are a characteristic of female stone formers. This defect could promote stones by facilitating crystal nucleation. Abnormal inhibition may well be a very important cause of human nephrolithiasis.

Animals↗

Long-term combined treatment with thiazide and potassium citrate in nephrolithiasis does not lead to hypokalemia or hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis.

BACKGROUND: Potassium citrate is commonly used in combination with a thiazide diuretic in the medical management of recurrent hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis. However, concerns have been raised that administration of this nonchloride potassium alkali with a kaliuretic and natriuretic agent such as thiazide may not be efficacious in correcting or preventing hypokalemia, and may produce hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis. This retrospective analysis was conducted to determine if these two potential complications are encountered in patients on long-term potassium citrate and thiazide therapy. METHODS: Data were collected on 95 patients who had been on combination therapy for at least 4 months from the stone clinics of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Duke University Medical Center, and Ochsner Clinic. RESULTS: Mean serum potassium concentration remained within normal limits without a significant decrease during combined therapy. Serum chloride was significantly lower from pretreatment but by only 1 mEq/L and remained within normal limits throughout treatment. There was a small increase in serum bicarbonate concentration compared to the baseline level of less than 1 mEq/L at 8 to 12 and 18 to 24 months, but not at other treatment periods. CONCLUSION: Co-administration of potassium citrate did not induce hypokalemia or hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis in our thiazide-treated patient population.

Adolescent↗

Bone mineral density and urine calcium excretion among subjects with and without nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced among patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) and nephrolithiasis. To disentangle effects of diet, stone formation, and physiology upon BMD, we studied vertebral and femoral neck BMD among relatives of hypercalciuric stone formers, and contrasted those with to those without stones. METHODS: Among 59 subjects from 11 families, vertebral and femoral neck BMD, diet calcium intake, urine excretions of calcium, sodium, ammonium, titratable acid, sulfate, urea nitrogen, and serum levels of calcitriol and markers of bone turnover were studied. RESULTS: Stone formers (SF) consumed less calcium than non-stone formers (NSF). Spine and femoral neck BMD z-scores varied inversely with urine calcium loss and urine ammonium excretion among SF but not NSF. No correlations of BMD z-score were found for bone markers, calcitriol, or any of the other measurements. CONCLUSION: SF consumed less calcium, presumably to prevent more stones, and displayed a bone mineral responsiveness to calcium loss and ammonium excretion not present among NSF, who ate more calcium. Lowered calcium consumption in IH, perhaps in response to stone formation, alters bone responses in a direction that can predispose to mineral loss and eventual fracture.

Adult↗

Ma-huang strikes again: ephedrine nephrolithiasis.

Ephedrine and its metabolites are naturally occurring alkaloids that can be derived from evergreens worldwide and have been used as medicinals for hundreds of years. Because they have "real" pharmacological alpha and beta catecholamine effects and are "natural" products, the alternative medicine industry has popularized them for multiple uses, including asthma, weight loss, energy and sexual enhancement, and euphoria. Several recent reviews have documented the dangerous nature of using these "drugs" unsupervised, including multiple deaths, and the FDA is currently reviewing ephedrine's use in the alternative medicine industry. We report a new toxicity, ephedrine nephrolithiasis, in a patient using an energy supplement, Ma-Huang extract, which contains ephedrine. Although previously not reported, the Louis C. Herring and Company kidney stone database show that this is an endemic complication of ephedrine with hundreds of previous episodes. Using gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometry, we were able to positively identify the chemical structure of our patient's stone, as well as other similar stones from Louis Herring, as containing ephedrine, norephedrine, and pseudoephedrine.

Adult↗