Application of mineralogical techniques in the study of human lithiasis

Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Evidence of Prostatic Stones at Al Khiday Cemetery, Central Sudan

The recovery of three stone-like ovoid objects within the burial of a pre-Mesolithic (Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene) individual at Al Khiday cemetery (Central Sudan) raises the question of the nature and origin of these objects. The position in which the objects were found in relation to the human skeleton suggested a pathological condition affecting the individual, possibly urinary bladder, kidney stones or gallstones. To solve this issue, a multi-analytical approach, consisting of tomographic, microstructural and compositional analyses, was therefore performed. Based on their microstructure and mineralogical composition, consisting of hydroxylapatite and whitlockite, the investigated stones were identified as primary (endogenous) prostatic calculi. In addition, the occurrence of bacterial imprints also indicates on-going infectious processes in the individual. This discovery of the earliest known case of lithiasis extends the appearance of prostatic stones into the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene, a disease which therefore can no longer be considered exclusive to the modern era, but which also affected prehistoric individuals, whose lifestyle and diet were significantly different to our own.

Clinical characteristics and metabolic abnormalities in preschool-age children with urolithiasis in southeast Anatolia

OBJECTIVE

Data on urolithiasis in preschool-age children are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic etiology and clinical findings of preschool-age children with urolithiasis.

METHODS

The medical records of 143 preschool-age children (81 boys, 62 girls, aged 2-6 years) with urolithiasis were retrospectively analyzed. Results of physical examination, serum biochemistry, and urine metabolic evaluation (including urinary citrate, oxalate, calcium, uric acid, cystine, and magnesium) were recorded.

RESULTS

The mean age at diagnosis was 3.7 ± 1.3 years. A family history of stone disease was found in 79.7% of patients, and 37% of parents had consanguineous marriages. The most common presenting symptoms were hematuria (33%) and urinary tract infection (UTI; 29%). Metabolic abnormalities were found in 119 (83.2%) patients, including hyperuricosuria in 24.5%, hypocitraturia in 23.8%, hyperoxaluria in 21.7%, hypercalciuria in 21.0%, cystinuria in 7.7%, and hypomagnesuria in 1.4%. Multiple metabolic abnormalities were found in 24 (16.8%) patients. Results of 28 stone analyses revealed calcium oxalate or phosphate, cystine, and uric acid in 15, nine, and four of the patients, respectively. (99m)Technetium-dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scintigraphy revealed that 27.8% of the children with UTI had renal parenchymal scarring, with only four of them having vesicoureteral reflux.

CONCLUSION

The most frequent metabolic abnormalities in preschool-age children with urolithiasis were hyperuricosuria and hypocitraturia. A comprehensive investigation of stone disease in children presenting with hematuria and UTI is important to prevent the development of renal parenchymal scarring.