Published online Feb 15, 1998. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v4.i1.82
Revised: November 6, 1997
Accepted: December 19, 1997
Published online: February 15, 1998
AIM: To analyze serum bile acids and biliary lipids of patients with cholesterol gallstone(CS) and explore the relationship between deoxycholic acid (DCA) and CS disease.
METHODS: Analysis of bile acids in serum was done with gas-chromatography in two groups: CS group (n = 151) and control group (n = 256). Serum bile acids and biliary lipids were also studied in 90 matched samples.
RESULTS: The serum DCA was 0.955 μmol/L ± 0.078 μmol/L in CS group, which was more than that of control group (0.696 μmol/L ± 0.047 μmol/L), P < 0.01. The ratio of DCA/chenodeoxycholic acids (CDCA) was 1.76 ± 0.30 in CS group, about two times that in control group (0.92 ± 0.14). The mole percent of DCA in bile was positively related to cholesterol saturation index (CSI) (P < 0.01) and the mole percent of CDCA in bile negatively to CSI (P = 0.01). There was correlation between the mole percent of DCA, CDCA and cholic acid in bile and in serum.
CONCLUSION: It is suggested that DCA is lithogenic and the increased amount of DCA or the ratio of DCA/CDCA in serum may be one of the features of cholesterol gallstone patients.