Rapid Screening of Increased Bile Acid Deconjugation and Bile Acid Malabsorption by Means of the Glycine-1-[¹⁴C] Cholylglycine Assay

Abstract

Pedersen, L., Arnfred, T. & Hess Thaysen, E. Rapid screening of increased bile acid deconjugation and bile acid malabsorption by means of the glycine-1-[¹⁴C] cholylglycine assay. Scand. J. Gastroent. 1973, 8, 665-672.

An evaluation has been made of the glycine-l-[¹⁴C] glycocholate assay developed by Fromm & Hofmann (6) for rapid assessment of increased bile acid deconjugation and of bile acid malabsorption. An investigation of 19 controls and 74 patients with abdominal disorders has confirmed the assay to be a reliable semiquantitative screening procedure which can be applied on an out-patient basis. Concomitant measurements of radioactivity in breath and stool are indispensable to discriminate between the contaminated small bowel syndrome and ileal dysfunction. The introduction of a simple oxygen flask combustion apparatus has made the assay accessible to any laboratory in possession of a liquid scintillation counter. The assay is easily performed. It is relatively cheap, and the radiation exposure is less than that associated with conventional radiography of the colon. The possibility is discussed whether non-specific diarrhoea may occasionally be caused by idiopathic bile acid malabsorption.

Key-words::

• Bile: bile acids
• colitis, regional
• colitis, ulcerative
• deconjugation
• diarrhoea
• intestine, small
• malabsorption
• metabolism