Dietary sodium chloride intake is nowadays globally known as one of the major threats for cardiovascular health. However, there is also important evidence that it may influence idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis onset and recurrence. Higher salt intake has been associated with hypercalciuria and hypocitraturia, which are major risk factors for calcium stone formation. Dietary salt restriction c...

BACKGROUND Hypercalciuria is one of the most common causes of unexplained isolated hematuria. The diagnostic methods for hypercalciuria have not yet been standardized. The aim of this study was to assess whether random urinary calcium/creatinine ratio could be used as a screening tool for hypercalciuria in children with hematuria. METHODS This prospective study included 264 children with prim...

Hypercalciuria may be classified into absorptive, renal and resorptive forms, depending on whether the primary defect is intestinal hyperabsorption of calcium, renal leak of calcium, or excessive bone resorption. In absorptive hypercalciuria, the pathogenetic role of vitamin D is uncertain, and mutations in the chloride channel may occur mainly in association with Dent’s disease. Early studies ...

Two processes permit the urine pH and the medullary interstitial pH to remain in an "ideal range" to minimize the risk of forming kidney stones. First, a medullary shunt for NH(3) maintains the urine pH near 6.0 to minimize uric acid precipitation when distal H(+) secretion is high. Second, excreting dietary alkali excreting alkali as a family of organic anions--including citrate--rather than a...

Several clinical and epidemiological studies revealed increased bone turnover and lower bone mass in patients with urolithiasis. Bone mass loss is particularly evident in idiopathic calcium stone formers. However, pathogenetic mechanisms and factors implicated in bone loss in these patients are still unknown. Dietary calcium restriction, increased intake of salt and animal proteins, vitamin D r...

It is well known that patients with recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis present bone mineral density loss manifesting as osteopenia or osteoporosis in the lumbar spine and/or hip.1 Moreover, it has been observed that in patients with calcium stones and idiopathic hypercalciuria, higher levels of fasting calcium/creatinine increase the possibility of osteopenia, therefore there is a risk factor fo...

UNLABELLED A 53-year-old male presented with recurrent calcium oxalate kidney stones as a first sign of underlying acromegaly, which vanished when his acromegaly was controlled. The exact mechanism behind hypercalciuria and urolithiasis in acromegaly is not yet clear. By discussing this case, a short overview of the pathophysiology of hypercalciuria in acromegaly and practical insights are give...

BACKGROUND The use of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) to treat calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) renal calculi gives excellent fragmentation results. However, the retention of post-ESWL fragments within the kidney remains an important health problem. This study examined the effect of various urinary conditions and crystallization inhibitors on the regrowth of spontaneously-passed pos...

PURPOSE Desmopressin may not be effective for nocturnal enuresis associated with polyuria and hypercalciuria. Nighttime hypercalciuria in an enuretic population from 5 centers and its correlation with nighttime polyuria were verified. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 450 enuretic patients (278 males, 172 females, mean age 9.7 years) were evaluated with 72-hour micturition charts, urinalysis, ...

The kidney plays a critical role in regulating water homeostasis through specific proteins highly expressed in the kidney, called aquaporins, allowing water permeation at a high rate. This brief review focuses on some nephropathies associated with impaired urinary concentrating ability and in particular analyzes the role of aquaporin 2 in hypercalciuria, the most common metabolic abnormality in...