title: Fatty acids and idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis.
abstract: Clinical and experimental investigations seem to underline the important role of fatty acids in the pathogenesis of hypercalciuria, a well-known risk factor for lithogenesis. To evaluate the relationships between the previously reported increase in plasma phospholipid arachidonic acid level and the factors responsible for calcium metabolism in idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis, a best-fit model was constructed. This new statistical application shows a causal relationship between plasma phospholipid arachidonic acid content, intestinal calcium absorption, biochemical markers of bone turnover, urinary calcium excretion and bone mineral density at the lumbar spine. This model suggests that a defect in the phospholipid fatty acid composition could represent the primary event responsible for the mosaic of metabolic and clinical alterations that are distinctive features of renal stone formers, such as kidney, intestine, and bone calcium metabolism, and several forms of idiopathic hypercalciuria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences, Division of Nephrology, University of Padua, Italy. bruno.baggio@unipd.it
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baggio
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Budakovic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000652:urine; D002128:Calcium Metabolism Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D002118:Calcium