Liver involvement in melamine-associated nephrolithiasis

ABSTRACT

It is currently believed that melamine ingestion can lead to insoluble crystals in an animal's urinary system with subsequent physical obstruction or bladder carcinoma. However, whether melamine can cause injury of other tissues and organs in humans is yet unknown. In this study, we encountered 3 affected children with liver lesions, 2 males and 1 female, and detailed their clinical characterizations. Their ages were respectively 2, 6, and 10 months. Among the 3 patients with liver lesions, only 1 exhibited symptoms of gradual progressive jaundice, abdominal distention, hepatic intumesce, and bilirubin abnormality; the other 2 were asymptomatic. The mechanism associated with liver lesion may, at least in part, be due to physical deposition and blockage of the biliary tract system. Disturbance of the acid-base equilibrium may be another reason that accelerates stone formation in human tissues