UF Health Launches NIH-Sponsored Trial to ‘POuND OUT’ Painful Kidney Stones
Kidney stones can be excruciatingly painful and dangerous, but relief may be on the way. A new University of Florida Health clinical trial will test two existing drugs that may slow the growth of these stones or prevent them from forming.
The UF Department of Urology is recruiting participants for the 18-month “POuND OUT” study, one of only a few National Institutes of Health-sponsored drug trials aimed at preventing uric acid kidney stones.
Uric acid is a compound in all urine. It accounts for about 10% of kidney stones from a specific population whose urine pH is too acidic and results in the compound crystalizing. The current standard of care for a patient with kidney stones is to prescribe six to 10 doses of bicarbonate pills a day for the rest of the patient’s life, but adhering to that treatment can be daunting.
“A lot of uric acid patients struggle to maintain that regimen long term,” said Benjamin Canales, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor and director of research at UF College of Medicine’s department of urology, who is facilitating the clinical trial. “It seems that we are masking the problem with a bicarbonate instead of trying to treat the underlying causes, which are obesity and diabetes.”
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