INHIBITION OF URINE CITRATE EXCRETION AND THE PRODUCTION OF RENAL CALCINOSIS IN THE RAT BY ACETAZOLEAMIDE (DIAMOX®) ADMINISTRATION 1

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Abstract
Administration of acetazoleamide to rats reduces urine citrate excretion to almost negligible amounts. The effect of alkalinizing salts and of vitamin D in increasing urine citrate is inhibited by acetazoleamide. To test whether the concentration of urine citrate is of importance in the prevention of Ca precipitation in the urinary tract, acetazoleamide was given to 6-week-old male rats fed diets which produced high urine outputs of Ca. The concentrations of Ca, P, and citrate in the serum were not demonstrably altered by acetazoleamide. Chemical analyses of the kidneys of the experimental animals showed much greater amounts of Ca than did those of the control rats. Histological examination revealed Ca precipitates in the kidneys of the acetazoleamide fed rats and not in the control rats. In the kidneys of the experimental rats fed a low phosphate diet the precipitates were in the tips of the papillary ducts and the renal pelves, whereas in the experimental rats fed a high phosphate diet the Ca was precipitated in the renal tubules at the corticomedullary junction.