Primary hyperoxaluria is a rare condition characterized by recurrent kidney and bladder stones. The condition often results in end stage renal disease (ESRD), which is a life-threatening condition that prevents the kidneys from filtering fluids and waste products from the body effectively.\n\nPrimary hyperoxaluria results from the overproduction of a substance called oxalate. Oxalate is filtered through the kidneys and excreted as a waste product in urine, leading to abnormally high levels of this substance in urine (hyperoxaluria). During its excretion, oxalate can combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate, a hard compound that is the main component of kidney and bladder stones. Deposits of calcium oxalate can damage the kidneys and other organs and lead to blood in the urine (hematuria), urinary tract infections, kidney damage, ESRD, and injury to other organs. Over time, kidney function decreases such that the kidneys can no longer excrete as much oxalate as they receive. As a result oxalate levels in the blood rise, and the substance gets deposited in tissues throughout the body (systemic oxalosis), particularly in bones and the walls of blood vessels. Oxalosis in bones can cause fractures.\n\nThere are three types of primary hyperoxaluria that differ in their severity and genetic cause. In primary hyperoxaluria type 1, kidney stones typically begin to appear anytime from childhood to early adulthood, and ESRD can develop at any age. Primary hyperoxaluria type 2 is similar to type 1, but ESRD develops later in life. In primary hyperoxaluria type 3, affected individuals often develop kidney stones in early childhood, but few cases of this type have been described so additional signs and symptoms of this type are unclear.

Kleta (2006) reviewed aspects of renal stone disease. Nephrolithiasis and urolithiasis remain major public health problems of largely unknown cause. While disorders such as cystinuria (220100) and primary hyperoxaluria (see 259900) that have nephrolithiasis as a major feature have advanced understanding of the metabolic and physiologic processes of stone formation in general, they have not addressed the etiology of calcium oxalate stone formation, responsible for approximately 75% of urolithiasis cases in humans. Men are affected twice as often as women, but children show no such gender bias. The recurrence rate is also high. In populations of European ancestry, 5 to 10% of adults experience the painful precipitation of calcium oxalate in their urinary tracts. Thorleifsson et al. (2009) noted that between 35 and 65% of hypercalciuric stone formers and up to 70% of subjects with hypercalciuria have relatives with nephrolithiasis, and twin studies have estimated the heritability of kidney stones to be 56%. Genetic Heterogeneity of Calcium Oxalate Nephrolithiasis See also CAON2 (620374), caused by mutation in the OXGR1 gene (606922) on chromosome 13q32.

The amount of 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate in the urine, normalized for urine concentration, is above the upper limit of normal.