The Effect of Decreasing the Concentration of Urinary Urate on the Crystallization of Calcium Oxalate in Undiluted Human Urine

Abstract

The effect of lowering the urate concentration, using uricase immobilized on to nylon tubing, on the nucleation, growth and aggregation of calcium oxalate crystals in undiluted human urine was examined. The median urate concentration was significantly (p less than 0.01) reduced from 2.8 to 0.55 mmol/l., but this had no reproducible effect on the metastable limits, the volume of crystalline calcium oxalate deposited and the size of the crystals and aggregates produced from the 10 urine samples examined. It was concluded that further studies aimed at testing the effects of a raised urinary urate concentration on the crystallization of calcium oxalate should be made a matter of high priority.