Despite the recent advances in minimally invasive surgery, kidney stones still pose a significant clinical challenge due to their high recurrence rate of 50% in 5-10 years after the first stone episode. Using the methods of geosciences and biology, the GeoBioMed approach treats kidney stones as biogenic minerals, offering a novel perspective on their formation and dissolution processes. In this review, we discuss kidney stones' structural and mechanical properties as emerging biomarkers of urolithiasis, emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive stone analysis in developing personalized treatment strategies. By focusing on unexplored properties like crystalline architecture, porosity, permeability, cleavage, and fracture, alongside the conventionally used composition and morphology, we show how these stone characteristics influence the treatment efficacy and the disease recurrence. This review also highlights the potential of advanced imaging techniques to uncover novel biomarkers, contributing to a deeper understanding of stone pathogenesis. We discuss how the interdisciplinary collaboration within the GeoBioMed approach aims to enhance the diagnostic accuracy, improve the treatment outcomes, and reduce the recurrence of urolithiasis.
Journal of clinical medicine. 2025 Feb 05*** epublish ***
Elena Popova, Sergey Tkachev, Artur Shapoval, Anastasia Karpenko, Yuliya Lee, Pavel Chislov, Boris Ershov, Danila Golub, Gevorg Galechyan, Daniil Bogoedov, Anastasiya Akovantseva, Elvira Gafarova, Roman Musaelyan, Maria Schekleina, Stuart Clark, Stanislav Ali, Alim Dymov, Andrey Vinarov, Petr Glybochko, Peter Timashev
Federal Research and Clinical Center of Specialized Medical Care and Medical Technologies, Moscow 115682, Russia., Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Sechenov University, Moscow 119991, Russia., School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia., Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, Moscow 119991, Russia., GridPoint Dynamics LLC, Moscow 123060, Russia., N.N. Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119334, Russia., Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute, Moscow 109017, Russia., Department of Petrology and Volcanology, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.