Nephrolithiasis; Prevalence, Risk factors and Therapeutic Strategies: A Review

Nephrolithiasis, kidney stone, is a common disease in the World. In industrialized countries, the prevalence of upper urinary tract stones has persistently increased in the twentieth century, yet there are significant contrasts among countries and furthermore inside a similar countries. Most of the people usually can have renal stones at any phase of life. The rate of prevalence of renal calculi is mostly high in males as well as in females. The basic pathophysiology for stone formation is super saturation of components of stones in urine; elements influencing solubility of these components include pH and volume of urine, and total excretion of solute. Majority of the calculi is chemically composed of calcium oxalate. These stones, crystalline in nature and hard, are raised in kidney. The pathogenesis mechanisms of nephrolithiasis are complex and involve both environmental and metabolic risk factors. Increasing prevalence rate suggests that kidney stones are associated with systemic diseases like cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. Further research of the pathophysiological linkage between kidney stone formation and these systemic disorders is necessary for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Over the past decade, major advancements have been made in the understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of renal stones. Treatment strategies for the renal stones are extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and conservative medical treatment. Data evidence suggests that therapeutic doses of shock waves may cause acute renal trauma, decrease in physiological functions of kidney, and an increase in recurrence rate of stones. Furthermore, there is no drug that can be satisfactorily used in the treatment of nephrolithiasis. Data collected from In vivo, In vitro, and clinical trials suggest that medicinal plants could be used as an alternative therapeutic strategy in the management of nephrolithiasis. The present review of literature critically evaluates the prospective use of medicinal plants in the treatment of nephrolithiasis.