Harry Beanbag
7/15/2008, 07:10 AM
Kidney stones warm to climate
Global warming could do more than hurt polar bears.
It could force a rise in kidney stones, scientists warned Monday.
"We see a relationship between kidney stones and temperatures everywhere," says Margaret Pearle of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and the study's co-author.
"Even in places with air-conditioning," higher temperatures mean more stones.
Stones result from salts that crystallize in the kidneys, often triggered by dehydration, causing famously painful blockages. Warm Southeastern states get 50 percent more cases than Northeastern states.
The new research says global warming will drive this kidney stone "belt" north and cause at least 1.6 million new cases by 2050.
The kidney-stone finding was reported Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/07/15/20080715kidneystones-green0715.html
:)
Global warming could do more than hurt polar bears.
It could force a rise in kidney stones, scientists warned Monday.
"We see a relationship between kidney stones and temperatures everywhere," says Margaret Pearle of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and the study's co-author.
"Even in places with air-conditioning," higher temperatures mean more stones.
Stones result from salts that crystallize in the kidneys, often triggered by dehydration, causing famously painful blockages. Warm Southeastern states get 50 percent more cases than Northeastern states.
The new research says global warming will drive this kidney stone "belt" north and cause at least 1.6 million new cases by 2050.
The kidney-stone finding was reported Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/07/15/20080715kidneystones-green0715.html
:)