Kidney stones in children should be considered as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in the future.

This is exactly what the authors of an article that appeared recently in the Journal of Pediatrics.

According to researchers, urolithiasis in children is increasingly being detected, and this should alert doctors, as the online publication for girls and women from 14 to 35 years old reports Pannochka. net Until recently, it was seen as an isolated problem, but scientists say kidney stones are closely related to other disorders in the body.. A study conducted at the National Children's Hospital showed a clear link between kidney stones in children and the risk of future atherosclerosis.

“If in an adult we form the formation of kidney stones and increase the stiffness of the arteries, we somehow did not talk about anything like this in children. We don’t talk about the risk of cardiovascular disease when we treat children. And this is wrong: kidney stones in a child may indicate an existing damage to the arteries, ”says nephrologist Kirsten Kusumi, author of the study.

In the course of their work, Dr. Kusumi and her colleagues from the Center for Translational and Clinical Medicine (CCM) of the National Children's Hospital using ultrasound measured the stiffness of the carotid arteries in 15 children with urolithiasis and 15 healthy children of the same age.

The results say that in children with urolithiasis, the thickness of the intima-media complex (TCIM) of the carotid artery is significantly higher on average than in children without kidney problems. None of the participants had atherosclerosis or other chronic diseases, so the scientists decided to explain the condition of the arteries precisely by the presence of kidney stones.

“Our data indicate that something goes wrong in the body of children with urolithiasis, and this has a negative effect on vascular intima. Now that we see a clear connection between kidney stones and changes in arteries in children, we can take certain steps to prevent atherosclerosis. In particular, such children need proper nutrition and regular physical activity, ”says Kusumi.

Scientists are not yet sure what is behind this unexpected connection. According to one of the hypotheses, the main role is played by the inflammatory process.. In the urine of children with kidney disease, the level of key inflammatory markers was elevated, and this indirectly confirms the scientists' guess.

“Different types of stones have different causes and risk factors..

If we could accurately determine what happens in the body during the formation of certain stones and with atherosclerosis, then we could significantly advance in the treatment of both diseases. But today we are still far from it, ”said Dr. Andrew Schwaderer, Head of the Department of Nephrology, National Children's Hospital and Lead Researcher CCTM.

Kusumi and Schwadere are actively working on the study of common mechanisms for the development of atherosclerosis and urolithiasis.. They say they have already found in the urine several biomarkers that can be used to diagnose and monitor these diseases..

medbe. ru.