Kidney stones on rise among women

Smoking, drinking and a poor diet are behind the rise in the number of women needing treatment for kidney stones, an expert has said.

Noor Buchholz, a urology consultant at Barts and the London NHS Trust, said the number of women treated for kidney stones at Barts had doubled in the last few years.

He said: "Five years ago, we treated 400 women a year for kidney stones - in the last year that figure increased dramatically to 800. We've had to expand our services to cope with the number of people requiring treatment and it doesn't show any sign of slowing down."

Mr Buchholz was speaking on the eve of the European Section of Urolithiasis (EULIS) Stone Conference, being held at Barts.

Kidney stones may not always be due to a single cause, although too much meat and salt could be to blame. A sedentary lifestyle and excessive smoking and drinking are also risk factors.

Mr Buchholz said: "There is no doubt in my mind that the increase in poor lifestyle choices including smoking and drinking among women is the key reason we are treating so many more of them. One in eight people in this country will develop kidney stones at some point.

"Traditionally they were seen as a man's disease, but that is no longer the case with women fast catching up with men."

Mr Buchholz said new technology means patients now experience a quicker recovery time when being treated for kidney stones.

Barts and London use a treatment called lithotripsy, which uses shock waves to break up the stones.

Shock wave lithotripsy is the most common way of treating kidney stones that cannot be passed in the urine. Other procedures include treating the kidney stone with laser via a small incision, and passing a tube through the ureter.

Fresno State students work with NASA

In July, a team of eight Fresno State students went to the NASA to conduct an experiment in its Grant Us Space Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program.

The students departed to Houston, Texas, on July 5, where they trained for their weightless experiment.

“We were the only team there doing work at zero gravity,” said Mujahid Umar, a mechanical engineering major at Fresno State.

The team tested the formation of a substance called calcium oxalate in order to see how it reacts in a microgravity environment on NASA’s “Weightless Wonder”
aircraft. Calcium oxalate are sharp salt crystals found in plants and is also the major component of kidney stones.

The Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program gives undergraduate students the chance to offer ideas to NASA. The teams also build and fly in a reduced-gravity experiment.

“The best part of the trip was being weightless. It is indescribable and such a natural
feeling,” said Gonzalo Leyva, an electrical engineering major. “It was the best decision I
have ever made.”

According to NASA’s website, astronauts are at risk for developing kidney stones because of the loss of bone calcium and decreased fluid intake. The kidney stones can form during or after the flight, and can pose serious consequences if not treated immediately.

“Mentoring and going with this group of students is something that most professors don’t get to do,” said Joy Goto, assistant professor for the chemistry department at Fresno
State.

The team will evaluate their findings and provide the results to NASA at a meeting in November.