Abstract
Twenty-three patients with gallstones were treated with two dosage levels of ursodeoxycholic acid, 600 mg/day and 150 mg/day. Two to three months after the treatment, the molar percentage of cholesterol in bile significantly decreased (from 7.4 to 4.5 mole % in the 600 mg group and from 7.6 to 4.0 mole % in the 150 mg group), so that bile became unsaturated in most patients in both treatment groups. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Biliary ursodeoxycholate increased in proportion to dose, and the sum of ursodeoxycholic acid plus chenodeoxycholic acid in biliary bile acids was over 70%. The was no significant increase in the proportion of lithocholate in bile. The major fecal bile acid of patients receiving ursodeoxycholic acid was lithocholic acid. Serum bile acid concentration rose slightly after 3 months of ursodeoxycholic acid treatment, and the major circulating bile acid became ursodeoxycholic acid. Ursodeoxycholic acid is well absorbed from intestine, undergoes little biotransformation during hepatic passage, and is 7-dehydroxylated by colonic bacteria. The litholytic activity of ursodeoxycholic acid was demonstrated in two patients receiving 450 mg and 150 mg, respectively, of the bile acid per day.
Highlights
Twenty-three patients with gallstoneswere treated with two dosage levels of ursodeoxycholic acid, 600 mg/day and 150 mg/day
Following the report by Danzinger, et al [1]that chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) dissolves cholesterol gallstones in man, the metabolism of CDCA has been studied in detail by many investigators [2,3].In 1975, we reported [4]that the administration of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA),the 7-pepimer of CDCA, reduced biliary cholesterol concentrations, and this result suggested the possibility that UDCA could dissolve gallstones [5].little work has been done to study the metabolism of UDCA in man
At a dose of 600 mg/day, UDCA predominated so that almost half of the biliary bile acids consisted of UDCA
Summary
UDCA was synthesized by Tokyo Tanabe Pharmaceutical Co. (Tokyo, Japan), and was better than 99% pure by gas-liquid chromatography and thinlayer chromatography. UDCA was synthesized by Tokyo Tanabe Pharmaceutical Co. (Tokyo, Japan), and was better than 99% pure by gas-liquid chromatography and thinlayer chromatography. All patients with radiolucent gallstones in radiologically visualizing gallbladders were treated at the Department of Medicine, Hokkaido University Hospital. The control subjects were persons without hepatobiliary diseases selected from the medical staff and nurses of our clinic
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
