Newsgroup: alt.support.crohns-colitis
Subject: Re: Kidney stones control?
From: Ron Hoggan
Date: Sat, 02 Nov 1996

The condition of some kidney stones is asserted to be the result of abnormal calcium deposition in the kidneys, in _Renal Physiology_ by Arthur Vander, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1975. On pages 127-128, it says: "The increased plasma calcium is deposited in various body tissues including the kidneys, where stones are formed." Abnormal calcium metabolism is very common in celiac disease. Chronic production of kidney stones should be cause to consider being tested for celiac disease.

Even if some drugs, such as Allopurinol, provide relief from the stones, they do not treat the underlying pathology. If occult celiac disease is at the root of the chronic production of kidney stones, which is a distinct possibility, a positive outcome is likely, as it is usually a very treatable condition. For those with Crohn's or IBD, testing for antiendomysium antibodies might reveal associated celiac disease.

Because of the genetic connections which have been demonstrated between celiac disease and Crohn's, the possibility of kidney stones in Crohn's seems likely.

I hope that is helpful.
Best Wishes,
Ron Hoggan

The condition of kidney stones is asserted to be the result of abnormal calcium deposition in the kidneys, in _Renal Physiology_ by Arthur Vander, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1975. On pages 127-128, it says: The increased plasma calcium is deposited in various body tissues including the kidneys, where stones are formed." Abnormal calcium metabolism is very common in celiac disease.

There is an interesting convergence, here. The antireticulin antibody (ARA) although it is not always found in the blood of an active celiac, is 100% predictive of celiac disease. Therefore, if a person has kidney stones, the ARA and the anti-endomysium antibody tests seem a prudent measure. Celiac disease may, on the basis of these tests, be positively diagnosed, and a negative result would be very, very likely to rule out active celiac disease.

Problems with the liver would also suggest such testing. As the ARA attacks the structural tissues of the kidney and the liver, such a course seems imminently sensible.

In a recent post from a woman who is on dialysis, as a result of polycystic kidney disease, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with celiac disease as a child, but was subsequently told that she had grown out of it, so she resumed a regular diet during adolescence. As memory serves, she developed her kidney disease, in her twenties, and she was wondering if I thought there might be a connection. (She had read an article I had posted on a newsgroup.) I suggested that she resume the gluten-free diet. I haven't heard back from her since. That was some months ago.

She is in her mid-thirties. I wonder when the information that celiac disease is a life-long condition is going to filter into the general practice of medicine? Dr. Dicke's discovery of an effective therapy is now 50 years old. What, exactly, is the renewal rate of medical information?

Sincerely,
Ron Hoggan