Type 2 diabetics' acidity heightens risk for kidney stones

[Guest guest]

Colleagues, the following is FYI and does not necessarily reflect my own

opinion. I have no further knowledge of the topic. If you do not wish to

receive these posts, set your email filter to filter out any messages

coming from @nutritionucanlivewith.com and the program will remove

anything coming from me.

---------------------------------------------------------

Media Contact: Connie Piloto

connie.piloto@...

Type 2 diabetics' acidity heightens risk for kidney stones

DALLAS – April 5, 2006 – People with type 2 diabetes have highly acidic

urine, a metabolic feature that explains their greater risk for

developing uric-acid kidney stones, researchers at UT Southwestern

Medical Center have found.

The study – the first to compare the urinary biochemical characteristics

of type 2 diabetics with those of normal volunteers – is available

online and will be published in the May issue of the Journal of the

American Society of Nephrology.

Individuals with type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes

mellitus) are at increased risk for developing kidney stones in general,

and have a particular risk for uric-acid stones. The mechanisms for this

greater risk were previously not entirely understood. This new study

demonstrates that the propensity for type 2 diabetics to develop

uric-acid stones is elevated because their urine is highly acidic.

“Our next step is to find out what causes type 2 diabetics to have an

abnormally acidic urine, and what other urinary factors protect some

diabetics who do not form uric-acid stones,” said Dr. Ann Cameron,

the paper’s lead author and a postdoctoral trainee in internal medicine.

Obesity and a diet rich in animal protein are associated with abnormally

acidic urine. In earlier studies, UT Southwestern researchers also

concluded that uric-acid stones are associated with insulin resistance

and type 2 diabetes.

But when researchers in this latest study accounted for these

components, type 2 diabetics continued to have more acidic urine levels

when compared to nondiabetics. These findings suggest that other factors

associated with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance account for the

overly acidic urine in this population.

“Diet intake and obesity, those two factors alone, don’t explain the

whole picture,” said Dr. Naim , an author and assistant professor

of internal medicine. “So, other unrecognized factors may play a role.”

Dr. Khashayar Sakhaee, senior author of the study and chief of mineral

metabolism, said: “Our group at UT Southwestern was the first to

determine that the more overweight a person is the more likely he or she

is to form uric-acid kidney stones.”

More than 18 million people in the United States live with diabetes, a

chronic disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond to

insulin and that can lead to life-threatening illness, including heart

disease and stroke.

Kidney stones are solid deposits that form in the kidneys from

substances excreted in urine. When waste materials in urine do not

dissolve completely, microscopic particles begin to form and, over time,

grow into stones. These solid deposits can remain in the kidney or they

can break loose and travel down the urinary tract. Small stones can pass

out of the body naturally, but larger stones can get stuck in a ureter,

the bladder or the urethra, possibly blocking the flow of urine and

often causing intense pain.

Uric acid stones are more difficult to diagnose than other types of

stones because they don’t show up on regular abdominal X-rays, often

delaying the diagnosis and leading to the continued growth of the stone.

Other UT Southwestern researchers contributing to the study were Dr.

Orson Moe, director of the and Jane Pak Center for Mineral

Metabolism and Clinical Research, and Beverley Huet, assistant

professor of clinical sciences and internal medicine.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the

National Kidney Foundation.

###

This news release is available on our World Wide Web home page at

http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index.html

--

ne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar@... >

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/