Metabolic syndrome heightens risk for development of uric-acid kid...( DALLAS Sept. 13 2007 Researchers a...),Health

DALLAS Sept. 13, 2007 Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that patients suffering from the metabolic syndrome a cluster of conditions that increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes also have a propensity to develop highly acidic urine, which increases the risk of developing kidney stones.

The first study, to demonstrate this relationship independent of age and renal function, appears in the September issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

The metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of risk factors that include obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. The American Heart Association estimates that more than 50 million Americans suffer from the syndrome.

Our findings suggest that the presence of an increasing number of metabolic syndrome features augments the propensity for uric-acid stone formation, said Dr. Naim Maalouf, assistant professor of internal medicine and the studys lead author.

In previous studies, UT Southwestern researchers have found that people who were overweight or suffered from diabetes had highly acidic urine, which often leads to the development of uric-acid kidney stones.

The current findings indicate that people with the other components leading to the metabolic syndrome also have highly acidic urine.

The association of highly acidic urine with elevated levels of systolic blood pressure, serum glucose, triglycerides and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol all features of the metabolic syndrome has not been previously reported, Dr. Maalouf said.

In the study, researchers recorded the height, weight and blood pressure of 148 participants who had never developed kidney stones. They also gathered blood and urine samples and tested the blood for features of the metabolic syndrome.

They found that participants with the metabolic syndrome had highly
'/>"/>