Bone Disease and Idiopathic Hypercalciuria

Observational and epidemiologic studies alike have shown that idiopathic hypercalciuric (IH) stone-forming patients typically show bone mineral density scores that are significantly lower than those observed for age- and sex-matched normal subjects or those for nonhypercalciuric stone-forming patients. Most of these studies have relied on changes in bone mineral density and have not explored the mechanism(s) involved. There have been a small number of studies that have relied on dynamic bone histomorphometry to ascertain the nature of the bone defect in IH patients. When performed, these studies clearly have shown increased bone resorption and high bone turnover in patients with fasting hypercalciuria whereas suppressed bone formation indices are the most consistent finding in patients with the absorptive variant of IH. The causes of this apparent difference in bone remodeling between the 2 variants of IH still is uncertain. Available evidence suggests that potential mechanisms may be dependent in large part to genetic, metabolic, and nutritional causes of hypercalciuria and bone loss in patients with IH.