Nanobac Life Sciences, Inc. has entered into a multi-centre collaboration involving researchers from Nanobac Life Sciences, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and NASA’s Johnson Space Centre, to study kidney stone formation. The multi-disciplinary team will apply the same type of instrumentation used to analyze moon rocks and particles collected from space to analyze mineralized particles and stones collected from kidney stone patients.

Little progress has been made during the last 50 years in understanding kidney stone formation. However, researchers from Nanobac have shown that virtually all kidney stones contain Calcifying Nano-Particles, also referred to as “Nanobacteria”. Nanobac researchers have also shown that these particles are powerful mediators of plaque formation and stones. The direct injection of Nanobacteria into rat kidneys resulted in stone formation in the nanobacteria-injected kidney during one-month follow-up. The multi-disciplinary team will attempt to find early events in stone formation and to verify whether Calcifying Nano-Particles are the initiators of kidney stone formation.

“Although urinary stones comprise the third most common disease of the urinary tract, the underlying cause still remains a mystery,” commented Dr. Marshall Stoller, Vice Chairman, Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco. “This is a rare opportunity to apply some of the most advanced geological analysis technologies, previously used to study lunar samples, to study mineralized particles from diseased tissues,” he added.

NASA says previous data show that astronauts are at increased risk for kidney stones as the result of longer missions and the physiological effects of space. “There could be serious health consequences for an astronaut who develops a kidney stone during a space flight, and it could also harm the mission,” stated Dr. Jeffrey Jones, urologist and NASA Flight Surgeon. “By applying technologies from the material sciences, we hope to solve a medical mystery. What is the underlying cause of kidney stones and can they be prevented? The answer to those questions will have a significant impact to Americans and to astronaut health on extended space missions,” Dr Jones added.

The economic costs of kidney stones are enormous. In the US, more than half a million people will develop kidney stones this year and 7 to 10 of every 1,000 hospital admissions are due to kidney stones. Caucasian patients are affected by kidney stones more than African American patients, and the maximum incidence occurs in the 30-50 year old age group.

Nanobac Life Sciences, Inc. detects and eradicates Calcifying Nano-Particles, also referred to as “Nanobacteria”. The Company’s pioneering research is establishing the pathogenic role of Nanobacteria in soft tissue calcification, particularly in coronary artery heart disease, prostatitis and vascular disease.