- #91
bobze
Science Advisor
Gold Member
- 648
- 18
Hey Jimmy or any of the stone sufferers, just a curiosity question for you. Have any of you had your cystine levels measured or has any doctor ever used the word "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystinuria" " with you?
A bit about cystinuria from the above link;
"Cystinuria is an inherited autosomal recessive[1] metabolic disorder that is characterized by the formation of cystine stones in the kidneys, ureter, and bladder. Cystinuria is a cause of persistent kidney stones. It is a disorder involving the defective transepithelial transport of cystine and dibasic amino acids in the kidney and intestine, and is one of many causes of kidney stones. If not treated properly, the disorder could cause serious damage to the kidneys and surrounding organs, and in some rare cases death. The stones may be identified by a positive nitroprusside cyanide test. The crystals are usually hexagonal, translucent, white. Upon removal, the stones may be pink or yellow in color, but later they turn to greenish due to exposure to air.Cystinuria is characterized by the inadequate reabsorption of cystine in the proximal convoluted tubules during the filtering process in the kidneys, thus resulting in an excessive concentration of this amino acid in the urine. Cystine may precipitate out of the urine, if the urine is neutral or acidic, and form crystals or stones in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder. It is one of several inborn errors of metabolism included in the Garrod's tetrad. The disorder is attributed to deficiency in transport and metabolism of amino acids."
I don't think much is known about the occurrence and epidemiology of the disease, as many of the amino acid transporter genetic defects are relatively new to science (thus could easily be over looked by a nephorlogist or urologist not up to date on their literature).
Anyway, since you seem have no cause for your stone problems, just possibly another avenue you could look into (this is not a diagnosis). Maybe you could even try an experiment with a low protein diet and see if that helps alleviate the formation of the stones (forgive me if this has been brought up or tried, I didn't read the whole topic).
A bit about cystinuria from the above link;
"Cystinuria is an inherited autosomal recessive[1] metabolic disorder that is characterized by the formation of cystine stones in the kidneys, ureter, and bladder. Cystinuria is a cause of persistent kidney stones. It is a disorder involving the defective transepithelial transport of cystine and dibasic amino acids in the kidney and intestine, and is one of many causes of kidney stones. If not treated properly, the disorder could cause serious damage to the kidneys and surrounding organs, and in some rare cases death. The stones may be identified by a positive nitroprusside cyanide test. The crystals are usually hexagonal, translucent, white. Upon removal, the stones may be pink or yellow in color, but later they turn to greenish due to exposure to air.Cystinuria is characterized by the inadequate reabsorption of cystine in the proximal convoluted tubules during the filtering process in the kidneys, thus resulting in an excessive concentration of this amino acid in the urine. Cystine may precipitate out of the urine, if the urine is neutral or acidic, and form crystals or stones in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder. It is one of several inborn errors of metabolism included in the Garrod's tetrad. The disorder is attributed to deficiency in transport and metabolism of amino acids."
I don't think much is known about the occurrence and epidemiology of the disease, as many of the amino acid transporter genetic defects are relatively new to science (thus could easily be over looked by a nephorlogist or urologist not up to date on their literature).
Anyway, since you seem have no cause for your stone problems, just possibly another avenue you could look into (this is not a diagnosis). Maybe you could even try an experiment with a low protein diet and see if that helps alleviate the formation of the stones (forgive me if this has been brought up or tried, I didn't read the whole topic).
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