The purpose of the present study was to compare the clinical characteristics of "pure" uric acid (UA) stone formers with that of "pure" calcium oxalate (CaOx) stone formers and to determine whether renal handling of UA, urinary pH, and urinary excretion of promoters and inhibitors of stone formation were different between the two groups. Study subjects comprised 59 patients identified by records of stone analysis: 30 of them had "pure" UA stones and 29 had "pure" CaOx nephrolithiasis. Both groups underwent full outpatient evaluation of stone risk analysis that included renal handling of UA and urinary pH. Compared to CaOx stone formers, UA stone formers were older (53.3 +/- 11.8 years vs. 44.5 +/- 10.0 years; P = 0.003); they had higher mean weight (88.6 +/- 12.5 kg vs. 78.0 +/- 11.0 kg; P = 0.001) and body mass index (29.5 +/- 4.2 kg/m(2) vs. 26.3 +/- 3.5 kg/m(2); P = 0.002) with a greater proportion of obese subjects (43.3% vs. 16.1%; P = 0.01). Patients with "pure" UA lithiasis had significantly lower UA clearance, UA fractional excretion, and UA/creatinine ratio, with significantly higher serum UA. The mean urinary pH was significantly lower in UA stone formers compared to CaOx stone formers (5.17 +/- 0.20 vs. 5.93 +/- 0.42; P < 0.0001). Patients with CaOx stones were a decade younger, having higher 24-h urinary calcium excretion (218.5 +/- 56.3 mg/24 h vs. 181.3 +/- 57.1 mg/24 h; P = 0.01) and a higher activity product index for CaOx [AP (CaOx) index]. Overweight/obesity and older age associated with low urine pH were the principal characteristic of "pure" UA stone formers. Impairment in urate excretion associated with increased serum UA was also another characteristic of UA stone formers that resembles patients with primary gout. Patients with pure CaOx stones were younger; they had a low proportion of obese subjects, a higher urinary calcium excretion, and a higher AP index for CaOx.

Background The usefulness of bone mass measurements and bone turnover markers to estimate the risk of fracture and the type of underlying renal osteodystrophy are not well established in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Objective To assess bone mass using total and regional bone densitometry in a group of patients on PD and to determine if serum markers of bone turnover identify patients with low bone mass. Methods Bone densitometry was studied by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and bone turnover using several serum markers, in 65 patients on PD. Bone mass was classified as normal, osteopenic, or osteoporotic according to World Health Organization criteria based on bone mineral density (BMD) T scores. Results T scores in the osteopenia range were present at the lumbar spine (LS) in 44.6% (45% of men and 44.4% of women) of patients and at the femoral neck (FN) in 56.9% (55% of men and 58% of women). T scores in the osteoporosis range were present at the LS in 13.8% of patients (10% of men and 15.5% of women) and at the FN in 21.5% (30% of men and 17.7% of women). Patients with BMD T scores in the osteoporosis range at both regions had increased serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels compared to patients in the osteopenic/normal range. Bone mineral content in the whole skeleton (TBMC) correlated negatively with iPTH ( r = –0.34) and with total time on dialysis ( r = –0.26); in multivariate analysis, only iPTH correlated negatively with TBMC ( B = –0.26, p = 0.03). No correlations were found between the other bone markers and BMD T scores at the FN or LS. There were no significant differences in absolute BMD or BMD T scores at the LS or FN between patients with and patients without fractures. Conclusions BMD T scores in the osteopenia/osteoporosis range were observed at the LS in 58.4% of these patients on PD and at the FN in 78.4%. TBMC correlated negatively with iPTH. There were no correlations between markers of bone turnover and bone mass measurements at the two skeletal regions, although patients with BMD T scores in the osteoporosis range had increased serum iPTH levels. Bone mass measurements were not different between patients with and patients without fractures.

Our results show that bone weakening in celiac disease might result from both 1) a metabolic disturbances of bone remodeling affecting trabecular and cortical bone masses and the mechanical quality of the bone material, and 2) a reduction of muscle strength impairing the modeling-dependent optimization of bone architectural design and mass of cortical bone. Dietary treatment seems to correct almost exclusively the metabolically induced disturbances, which were predominant in women.

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Although urine phosphate loss has been associated with hypercalciuria, it is debated how frequently renal phosphate leak is present in hypercalciuric patients. We reviewed the records of 100 consecutive adult patients who were diagnosed with idiopathic hypercalciuria and calcium urolithiasis, searching for the presence of renal phosphate leak. The renal phosphate threshold, normalized for the glomerular filtration rate (TmPO4/GFR), of the hypercalciuric patients followed a normal distribution and had a good correlation with serum phosphate ( r=0.77; p<0.0001). There were no correlations between TmPO4/GFR and urinary calcium or between serum phosphorus and urinary calcium. We found only nine patients (9%) with renal phosphate leak. These patients had a mean TmPO4/GFR of 2.19 mg% (0.70 mmol/l) and serum phosphorus of 2.65 mg% (0.85 mmol/l). Nevertheless, urinary calcium was not significantly different between patients with or without low TmPO4/GFR. We conclude that renal phosphate leak is an infrequent finding in patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria and is not associated with a higher urinary calcium loss.