Background Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency is a purine metabolism disorder causing kidney stones and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The course of nephrolithiasis and CKD has not been well characterized. The objective of this study was to examine long-term kidney outcomes in patients with APRT deficiency. Study Design An observational cohort study. Setting & Participants All patients enrolled in the APRT Deficiency Registry of the Rare Kidney Stone Consortium. Outcomes Kidney stones, acute kidney injury (AKI), stage of CKD and kidney failure, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and changes in eGFR. Measurements Serum creatinine and eGFR calculated using creatinine-based equations. Results Of 53 patients, 30 (57%) were female and median age at diagnosis was 37.0 (range, 0.6–67.9) years. The median duration of follow-up was 10.3 (range, 0.0–31.5) years. At diagnosis, kidney stones had developed in 29 patients (55%) and 20 (38%) had CKD stages 3–5, including 11 patients (21%) with stage 5. At latest follow-up, 33 patients (62%) had had kidney stones; 18 (34%), AKI; and 22 (42%), CKD stage 3–5. Of the 14 (26%) patients with CKD stage 5, 12 had initiated renal replacement therapy. Kidney stones recurred in 18 of 33 patients (55%). The median eGFR slope was −0.38 (range, −21.99 to 1.42) mL/min/1.73 m2 per year in patients receiving treatment with xanthine dehydrogenase inhibitor and −5.74 (range, −75.8 to −0.10) mL/min/1.73 m2 per year in those not treated prior to the development of stage 5 CKD (p=0.001). Limitations Use of observational registry data. Conclusions Progressive CKD and AKI episodes are major features of APRT deficiency, while nephrolithiasis is the most common presentation. Advanced CKD without history of kidney stones is more prevalent than previously reported. Our data suggest that timely therapy may retard CKD progression.

Objective To characterise the symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Design Population based cohort study. Setting Iceland. Participants All individuals who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) between 17 March and 30 April 2020. Cases were identified by three testing strategies: targeted testing guided by clinical suspicion, open invitation population screening based on self referral, and random population screening. All identified cases were enrolled in a telehealth monitoring service, and symptoms were systematically monitored from diagnosis to recovery. Main outcome measures Occurrence of one or more of 19 predefined symptoms during follow-up. Results Among 1564 people positive for SARS-CoV-2, the most common presenting symptoms were myalgia (55%), headache (51%), and non-productive cough (49%). At the time of diagnosis, 83 (5.3%) individuals reported no symptoms, of whom 49 (59%) remained asymptomatic during follow-up. At diagnosis, 216 (14%) and 349 (22%) people did not meet the case definition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, respectively. Most (67%) of the SARS-CoV-2-positive patients had mild symptoms throughout the course of their disease. Conclusion In the setting of broad access to RT-PCR testing, most SARS-CoV-2-positive people were found to have mild symptoms. Fever and dyspnoea were less common than previously reported. A substantial proportion of SARS-CoV-2-positive people did not meet recommended case definitions at the time of diagnosis.

BackgroundKidney stone disease has been associated with reduced kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The objective of the study was to examine kidney function, body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes in recurrent kidney stone formers.MethodsA cross-sectional, case-control study comparing measures of kidney function, BMI and comorbid conditions was conducted in 195 kidney stone patients aged 18 to 70 years with recurrent clinical stone events and 390 age- and gender-matched controls. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, chi-square tests and analysis of covariance were used to compare serum creatinine (SCr) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between the groups.ResultsThe median age of stone formers was 51 (range, 19–70) years and 108 (55 %) were males. Seventy patients (36 %) had experienced 2–4 clinical stone events, 41 (21 %) 5–10 episodes and 84 (43 %) more than 10. The median SCr was 75 (41–140) μmol/L in the stone formers and 64 (34–168) μmol/L in the control group (p < 0.001). The mean eGFR was 87 ± 20 and 104 ± 22 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the stone formers and controls, respectively (p < 0.001). After adjustment for body size and comorbid conditions, the difference in SCr and eGFR between cases and controls remained highly significant (p < 0.001). The prevalence of CKD was 9.3 % among stone formers compared with 1.3 % in the control group (P < 0.001). Hypertension and diabetes were significantly more prevalent among the cases that also had higher BMI than controls.ConclusionsRecurrent kidney stone formers have a significantly lower level of kidney function and a markedly higher prevalence of CKD than age- and gender-matched control subjects. The observed deleterious effect of kidney stones on kidney function appears to be independent of comorbid conditions.

Urine dipstick tests are widely used in routine medical care to diagnose kidney and urinary tract and metabolic diseases. Several environmental factors are known to affect the test results, whereas the effects of genetic diversity are largely unknown. We tested 32.5 million sequence variants for association with urinary biomarkers in a set of 150 274 Icelanders with urine dipstick measurements. We detected 20 association signals, of which 14 are novel, associating with at least one of five clinical entities defined by the urine dipstick: glucosuria, ketonuria, proteinuria, hematuria and urine pH. These include three independent glucosuria variants at SLC5A2, the gene encoding the sodium-dependent glucose transporter (SGLT2), a protein targeted pharmacologically to increase urinary glucose excretion in the treatment of diabetes. Two variants associating with proteinuria are in LRP2 and CUBN, encoding the co-transporters megalin and cubilin, respectively, that mediate proximal tubule protein uptake. One of the hematuria-associated variants is a rare, previously unreported 2.5 kb exonic deletion in COL4A3. Of the four signals associated with urine pH, we note that the pH-increasing alleles of two variants (POU2AF1, WDR72) associate significantly with increased risk of kidney stones. Our results reveal that genetic factors affect variability in urinary biomarkers, in both a disease dependent and independent context.

Author Contributions: Drs Eythorsson and Palsson had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency is a hereditary disorder that leads to excessive urinary excretion of 2,8-dihydroxyadenine (DHA), causing nephrolithiasis and chronic kidney disease. Treatment with allopurinol or febuxostat reduces DHA production and attenuates the renal manifestations. Assessment of DHA crystalluria by urine microscopy is used for therapeutic monitoring, but lacks sensitivity. We report a high-throughput assay based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) for quantification of urinary DHA. The UPLC–MS/MS assay was optimized by a chemometric approach for absolute quantification of DHA, utilizing isotopically labeled DHA as an internal standard. Experimental screening was conducted with D-optimal design and optimization of the DHA response was performed with central composite face design and related to the peak area of DHA using partial least square regression. Acceptable precision and accuracy of the DHA concentration were obtained over a calibration range of 100 to 5000 ng/mL on three different days. The intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision coefficients of variation were well within ±15% for quality control samples analyzed in replicates of six at three concentration levels. Absolute quantification of DHA in urine samples from patients with APRT deficiency was achieved wihtin 6.5 min. Measurement of DHA in 24 h urine samples from three patients with APRT deficiency, diluted 1:15 (v/v) with 10 mM ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), yielded a concentration of 3021, 5860 and 10563 ng/mL and 24 h excretion of 816, 1327 and 1649 mg, respectively. A rapid and robust UPLC–MS/MS assay for absolute quantification of DHA in urine was successfully developed. We believe this method will greatly facilitate diagnosis and management of patients with APRT deficiency.

Urinary DHA excretion in APRT deficiency patients decreased with conventional doses of both allopurinol and febuxostat. Febuxostat was, however, significantly more efficacious than allopurinol in reducing DHA excretion in the prescribed doses. This finding, which may translate into improved outcomes of patients with APRT deficiency, should be confirmed in a larger sample.

Age-related decline in BMD is more pronounced in women than in men, but determinants of BMD are multiple and interrelated. Our study indicates that different factors may be important for bone health of men and women and at different ages.