Bile Acids in Bile during Long-term Chenodeoxycholic Acid Treatment

Abstract

Bremmelgaard, A & Pedersen, L. Bile acids in bile during long-term chenodeoxycholic acid treatment. Scand. J. Gastroent. 1976, 11, 161-165.

Relative concentrations of conjugated and sulfated bile acids in duodenal bile were measured in 5 patients before and during treatment with 0.50–0.75 g of chenodeoxycholic acid per day for 3–4 months. Lithocholic acid constituted 0.8–3.3 % (mean 1.8 %) of total conjugated and sulfated bile acids before and 0–5.4 % (mean 2.6 %) during treatment. Lithocholic acid was the predominant bile acid in the sulfate fraction in three patients and chenodeoxycholic acid in two. Sulfated bile acids constituted less than 1 % of total bile acids and did not increase during treatment. Ursodeoxycholic acid, the other major metabolite of chenodeoxycholic acid, was found in higher amounts during therapy. The unsaturated bile acid 3β-hydroxy-Δ⁵-cholenic acid, which was found exclusively as its sulfate ester, showed a slight fall. The average G/T conjugation ratio rose from 2.2 to 4.5.

Key-words::

• Bile acids
• chenodeoxycholic acid therapy
• sulfates