[Bone mineral densitometry by dual photon absorptiometry in patients with urolithiasis--on the possibility of the differential diagnosis of idiopathic hypercalciuria]

Abstract

Bone mineral density (BMD) of the 3rd lumbar spine was measured by dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) in 8 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) and 39 patients with idiopathic urolithiasis (IU). Of the patients, 15 were classified into idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) which were further classified into 2 types of IH--renal hypercalciuria (RH) and absorptive hypercalciuria (AH)--by Ca restriction and load test. BMD of the IH patients tended to be lower than patients with normocalciuria, but significantly higher than the PHP patients. BMD of the RH patients was significantly lower than the AH patients. In conclusion, DPA may be a simple method for classifying the types of idiopathic hypercalciuria.