Possible New Treatment for Kidney Stones

Researchers have identified an approach they believe will help patients with kidney stones pass them faster and with less pain. In a lab dish, they exposed cells from human ureters (the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder) to 18 different drugs and found two that were most effective in relaxing the cells: nifedipine, currently used to treat high blood pressure, and a rho kinase inhibitor, currently used to treat glaucoma. In animal tests, injecting these two medications together nearly eliminated painful ureteral contractions.

Next the researchers hope to test the treatment in humans to determine what doses are needed to help stones pass faster.