Citrate and the Ostwald Limit

Citrate and the Ostwald Limit

This article will take you for a ride and offer you some surprises.

It is about how urine resists crystallization, a property summed up in the forbidding term ‘Upper Limit of Metastability.’

But don’t be scared off.

The ULM is a powerful concept that will help you understand the real issues in stone prevention.

And, at the end of the article, you will find that quite possibly it is not the mysterious and giant collection of urine proteins which protect us against crystals but perhaps our familiar citrate molecule in league with another small molecule, inorganic pyrophosphate which is a close relative of the bone sparing and common bisphosphonate drugs.

Enjoy.

Potassium Citrate: The Contributions of Dr. Charles Pak

Potassium Citrate: The Contributions of Dr. Charles Pak

It seems to me important to highlight not only what we can do for stone prevention, but here and there to recognize those people who have given us what we have. Charles Pak’s work was instrumental in getting potassium citrate into the real world as a treatment. He helped to establish it worked, and helped industry make a practical pill form of it. As my tribute to him I have reviewed some his most important papers on the subject. Anyone who uses the drug should care.

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