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Can L-arginine Help People Pass Their Kidney Stones, or is this a Case of Fraudulent Research from Egypt?

Can L-arginine Help People Pass Their Kidney Stones, or is this a Case of Fraudulent Research from Egypt?

by | Jul 15, 2025

Post Categories: Longevity Research | Perspectives | Studies/Reviews

One hundred fifty-three Egyptian patients who had a kidney stone of 4 to 10 mm in size in the distal ureter were randomly assigned to receive (without blinding) L-arginine (1 gram once a day), tamsulosin (0.4 mg once a day; a treatment that is known to be effective for promoting stone passage) or placebo for 4 weeks. The proportion of patients who passed (expelled) their stone during the study was 11.8% in the placebo group, 31.4% in the tamsulosin group, and 94.1% in the L-arginine group.

Comment: If this modest dosage of L-arginine is as effective as this study suggests for promoting the passage of kidney stones, it would represent a major advance in the treatment of kidney stones. However, I have doubts that this study is real.

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Alan R. Gaby, MD

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