Clinical Trial: Randall's Plaque Study: Pathogenesis and Relationship to Nephrolithiasis

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional




Official Title: Randall's Plaques: Pathogenesis and Relationship to Nephrolithiasis

Brief Summary:

Kidney stones are very common. They affect 3-5% of the population in the United States. Many people are hospitalized for the treatment of kidney stones and some may die. Better understanding of what causes kidney stones is useful in both the treatment and prevention of kidney stones. However, exactly what causes kidney stones is unknown.

The most common type of kidney stones contains calcium, which sometimes is attached to a part of the kidney important in producing the final urine, called the papilla. The investigators have noticed that persons who form kidney stones seem to have more papilla with stones attached. They propose to study these areas of the papilla, called Randall's plaques (named after their discoverer), in patients undergoing surgery for kidney stones.