Urolithiasis has many causes and can be treated in many different ways. An extensive metabolic work-up is often necessary for secondary prevention. The various treatment options must be considered for their suitability in each individual patient. Robust data are now available on surgical and interventional methods, but there are as yet no high-quality trials of secondary prevention. Further research should concentrate on the etiology and pathogenesis of urolithiasis.

Crystal formation reflects the entire composition of the surrounding solution. In case of urolithiasis, induced crystal formation in native urine has led to the development of the Bonn-Risk-Index (BRI), a valuable tool to quantify an individual's risk of calcium oxalate urolithiasis. If the progression of a disease is associated with characteristic changes in the activities of urinary components, this leads to an altered urinary crystallisation capacity. Therefore, the results of induced urinary crystal formation can be used to detect and monitor any disease linked to the altered urinary composition. Since crystal formation inherently takes into account the entire urinary composition, the influence of the disease on individual urinary parameters does not have to be known in order to monitor the consequent pathologic alterations. In this paper, we review the background of urinary crystal formation analysis and describe its established application in urolithiasis monitoring as well as potential further fields of clinical application.

Our pilot data indicate that patients with PH may benefit from a restriction of dietary oxalate and hydroxyproline intake. Further research is needed to define the role of distal RTA in PH and to evaluate the hypothesis of an acquired acidification defect.

It seems likely that C labeled TMM-glucuronide and TMM-sulfate are phase-II metabolites which were converted after colonic transformation. Variations in plasma kinetics were observed for these two metabolites and may be attributed to the individual composition of the microbiota. We conclude that C labeled polyphenol metabolites are detectable and quantifiable in human plasma.

The spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare variant of the embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, mostly occurring in childhood. Only a few cases are described in adults. To date, no case of the spindle cell subtype of the prostatic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma has been published. We report on a 23‐year‐old man, initially presenting with obstructive micturition problems, perineal pain and night sweat. After diagnosis by transrectal biopsy of the prostate, radiochemotherapy within the CWS 2002 P study was applied: nine cycles of vincristine, doxorubicin, actinomycin D, ifosfamide, and fractionated radiotherapy of the tumor and suspect lymph nodes (final dose 50.4 Gy). The tumor initially shrank, but an early local recurrence arose. Second‐line chemotherapy was applied, followed by a salvage radical cytoprostatectomy. The patient died of disseminated disease 14 months after diagnosis.