Serum antioxidant enzyme levels are decreased in patients with urinary calcium oxalate stones: Beyond the Abstract
The urinary calcium oxalate (CaOx) stone formation is considered as a complicated physicochemical procedure and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in this process as signaling molecules as well as agents of inflammation and injury. The availability of ROS is controlled by several scavenging systems such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase.
Although these urinary stones can be surgically removed without any major complications, there aren’t many treatments for preventing the stone development. In this study we compared the serum antioxidant levels between patients with urinary CaOx stones and healthy controls and we have demonstrated that patients with urinary stone disease have lower antioxidant levels suggesting that oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of urinary stone disease. Future studies are needed to demonstrate if antioxidant supplements may decrease the risk of urinary stone formation.
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Written By: Omer Onur Cakir, MD
Department of Urology, Health Sciences University, Istanbul Bagcilar Research and Training Hospital.