Schistosomiasis affection of the kidney as a possible cause of renal stone formation

Nowadays, renal stone is one of the medical complaints. Many theories have been suggested to account for its formation. The present work aimed to find out a correlation between schistosomiasis affection of the kidney and the formation of renal stones. Three groups of patients with renal stones were selected. They had Schistosoma mansoni infection (1st group), with Schistosoma haematobuim infection (2nd group) and Schistosoma free (3rd group or control). The results showed pathological changes in the kidney biopsied materials, particularly the glomerulus, ranging from periglomerular fibrosis to complete atrophy and lymphoid follicles in the interstitium. Sometimes, distal-tubular atrophy was seen. The serum and tissue immunoglobulins, particularly the IgA, in schistosomiasis patients were above normal as compared to control ones. It is concluded that the schistosomiasis affection of the kidney, and the resulting immunopathological changes were factors predisposing, in one way or another, to the formation of renal stones.