Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

What is the Role of Zinc in Kidney Stones?

by Jayashree on Jun 22 2021 4:26 PM

 What is the Role of Zinc in Kidney Stones?
Kidneys filter waste from the blood to form urine. Sometimes, salts and other minerals in urine stick together to form small kidney stones.
There are two contradicting theories about the impact of zinc on kidney stones. One theory is zinc stops the growth of the calcium oxalate crystals helps in the formation of kidney stones and the second theory is zinc alters the surfaces of crystals which encourages further growth.

h Jeffrey Rimer and Abraham E. Dukler at the University of Houston conducted the first study to offer some resolution to the differing hypotheses of zinc.

"What we see with zinc is something we haven't seen before. It does slow down calcium oxalate crystal growth and at the same time it changes the surface of the crystals, causing defects in the form of intergrowths. These abnormalities create centers for new crystals to nucleate and grow," reports Rimer, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston.

Calcium oxalate monohydrates (COM), the most naturally abundant form of calcium oxalate crystals along with various inorganic salts and organic compounds (e.g., proteins) deposits crystallize or stick together in concentrated urine form kidney stones.

This study using a combination of in vitro experiments and computational modeling published in Crystal Growth & Design decodes the effects of zinc on COM crystal growth at the molecular level.

The dual role of zinc on COM is confirmed by atomic force microscopy measurements shows the unique ability of zinc ions to alter the termination of crystal surfaces can help to identify new ways to prevent kidney stone formation.

Advertisement


Source-Medindia


Recommended Readings
Latest Research News
View All
Advertisement