Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in Western countries with a rising incidence worldwide. Consequences of NAFLD can also include kidney disease and kidney stones, although the mechanisms for the development of these kidney diseases due to NAFLD are not yet fully understood. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Occupational Research at TU Dortmund University (IfADo) have now published a paper on how fatty liver disease promotes the formation of kidney stones.

Researchers at IfADo have found out in studies that metabolic processes in the liver are disturbed by fatty liver disease. As a result, there is a higher accumulation of oxalate. Oxalate is not only present in some foods, but is formed as a metabolic product in the liver and excreted through the kidneys in the urine. Increased levels of oxalate in the urine are associated with a higher risk of chronic kidney disease progression because oxalate binds calcium, which can lead to the formation of kidney stones.

Although kidney stones are usually not life-threatening, they frequently recur and are the cause of chronic kidney disease. In a healthy liver, the enzyme alanine glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGXT) prevents too much oxalate from forming. However, the IfADo study shows that AGXT is reduced in fatty liver and thus cannot perform its function adequately. Fatty liver disease is thus also a risk factor for kidney stones and chronic kidney disease