Brushite (CaHPO(4).2H(2)O) was considered to govern the formation of renal calculus of calcium phosphate origin. The degree of saturation of urine with respect to this phase was therefore calculated. This value was obtained from the ratio of the activity product of Ca(++) and HPO(4) (m) (K(sp)) before and after incubation of urine with brushite. The errors in the calculation of K(sp) were large...

About 12% of men and 5% of women of Western European descent develop at least one urinary stone during their lifetime. The incidence is somewhat less in individuals of sub-Saharan African or Asian descent, although there is a high incidence in the Middle Eastern countries. Calcium oxalate is a major constituent of about 70% of these stones. They are of multifactorial origin, with both genetic a...

OBJECTIVE Osteoporosis is infrequent in young premenopausal women and is often associated with secondary disorders. However, idiopathic osteoporosis may be found in this setting and few data are known on this condition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the clinical characteristics and bone remodelling abnormalities in premenopausal women with idiopathic osteoporosis. METHODS 28...

Abnormal absorption of dietary calcium has been recognized for many years in intestinal diseases, sarcoidosis (1), idiopathic hypercalciuria (2), hypoparathyroidism (3, 4), hyperparathyroidism (5-7), and more recently in calcinosis universalis (8). Understanding of calcium absorption in the past has been limited by the requirement of 18 to 20 days of metabolic balance procedures; interpretation...

Patients 120 men (mean age 45 y) who had idiopathic hypercalciuria (urinary calcium excretion > 300 mg/d) on an unrestricted diet, recurrent formation of calcium oxalate stones ( ≥ 2 colic episodes with expulsion of stones or radiographic evidence of retained stones), no known condition commonly associated with calcium nephrolithiasis, no previous visit to a stone disease centre, and no current...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical characteristics and etiological factors related to male osteoporosis in patients attending an out-patient rheumatology department during an 11-year period (1995-2006), as well as to compare them with the observed characteristics in a previous study performed 12 years ago. METHODS 232 males aged 21-88 (mean 56.1+/-14) with osteoporosi...

Dear Editor, We read with interest the article “Role of high-dose hydrochlorothiazide in idiopathic hypercalciuric urolithiasis of childhood” by Naseri and Sadeghi.1 They used high-dose hydrochlorothiazide (1 mg/ kg/d to 2 mg/kg/d) in hypercalciuric children and described that no study has addressed whether low doses of thiazides have a hypocalciuric effect, especially in children.1 We recently...