Researchers Find New Ties Between Kidney Stone Risk, Treatment And Diet, Statins And Body Fat Distribution

A series of studies that examine the relationship of diet, obesity, nutrition and statin medications were presented to media at a special press conference during the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA).

Total Caloric Intake Modulates Risk for Urinary Stones in Women: Results from The Women's Health Initiative (#2139): While obesity is loosely tied to the risk of kidney stones, researchers in this study from the University of California, San Francisco attempted to discover the exact causal relationship. They found that modifying total daily caloric intake may be an important measure in the reduction of stone disease. The researchers used data from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study and identified 78,551 participants who were included based on data related to diet, body mass index (BMI) and occurrence of symptomatic stone disease. Even when adjusted for obesity, total caloric intake conferred an independent risk of stone disease, suggesting that regulating the total number of calories ingested daily may play a significant role in risk reduction for stone disease in obese and overweight people.

Diet, Vegetarianism and Urolithiasis (#2146): Researchers from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, found that meat-heavy diets may be associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones and that a high intake of fresh fruit, fiber and certain minerals may reduce risk. The team studied 50,617 participants in the Oxford arm of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Project. 202 participants were diagnosed with kidney stones during the follow-up period. Regression analysis was used to examine the association of diet with risk after stratification by sex, method of recruitment and region of residence, and adjusting for smoking and drinking alcohol. Compared to those with a high meat diet, the incidence rate of stones was .71 for moderate meat eaters, .52 for low meat eaters and .52 for fish eaters and vegetarians. Diets with high intake of fresh fruit, and those high in fiber, magnesium, iron and potassium, were associated with a reduction in stone disease. There was no association found with vegetable consumption, calcium or vitamin C.

The Effect of Statin Medications On Urinary Stone Formation: A Ten Year Review of the Armed-Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA) Database (#2233): Attempting to clarify the exact cause of kidney stone formation, a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco investigated the relationship between hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and triglycerides) and kidney stones, as well as the impact of statin medications (typically used to treat high cholesterol) on stone formation. Patient records from the AHLTA database were used; 57,320, (36,341 male) were identified with hyperlipidemia. 32,386 patients (20,063 male) were prescribed statin medications including 1,030 (724 male) who developed a stone. While confirming the relationship of urinary stone disease with hyperlipidemia, the researchers found that the use of statin medications was associated with a reduction in risk of stone disease; the effect was seen more prominently in females.

Identifying Kidney Stone Symptoms for Men and Treating Them

Scientifically, men are less prone to urinary tract diseases than women. This is due to the long structure of the male urethra which makes it less prone to invasion of bacteria that may cause urinary tract infection and similar diseases. However, when it comes to the occurrence of kidney stones, men and women exhibit the same propensity in developing the said disease.

Kidney stones may form in different ways. Diet, concurrent diseases, genetics, infection—these are common reasons which predispose a person in developing kidney stones. And like any other diseases, we can pinpoint several kidney symptoms for men. The earlier we realize these symptoms, the better the chances for us to get rid of these kidney stones.

Renal Colic/ Colicky Pain

Renal colic and tenderness a common kidney stone symptoms for men—the same way it is common to women. Renal colic refers to the pain and tenderness that one feels on the groin area as well as in the costovertebral angle (the anatomical position in our back where the kidney is located, and the most common site where pain due to kidney stones radiate).

Suffering from such kidney stone symptoms in men can make you writhe from an excruciating pain. Finding a comfortable position where the pain can be lessened can be very hard to do…though most find relief upon lying flat on the floor. Such type of pain can be managed with the use of potent analgesics/ pain relievers. Since these drugs are potent, you may need to acquire a prescription from your physician.

The majority of these cases occur secondary to renal stones

Seventeen cases of peritonitis due to rupture of a pyonephrosis have been reported. The majority of these cases occur secondary to renal stones.

Only two cases of ruptured pyonephrosis with concurrent kidney neoplasm have been described and only one of these presented as an acute peritonitis. In this presentation we discuss an unusual case of a 68 year old man with a chronic history of bilateral nephrolithiasis and recent pyonephrosis.

He presented acutely with peritonitis and was later found to have a carcinosarcoma of the kidney. The case highlights the importance of recognizing the possibility of underling renal carcinoma in patients presenting with a ruptured pyonephrosis and discuss steps to avoid this serious complication.

Author: Silvia QuaresimaAntonio ManzelliEdoardo RicciardiAthanasios PetrouNicholas BrennanAlessandro MaurielloPiero Rossi.