Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Seven women with gallstones were given 0.75 to 4.5 g per day of chenodeoxycholic acid, a primary bile acid, to promote micellar solubilization of cholesterol in bile. In Case 1 three stones that had remained unchanged in size during six years of observations disappeared after six months of treatment. A single stone in Case 2 and multiple calculi in Cases 3 and 4 progressively grew smaller during 14 to 22 months of chenodeoxycholic acid administration. Gallstone size did not change in the other three. Chenodeoxycholic acid and total bile acid pool sizes (measured in two patients), which were reduced before therapy, were markedly expanded by chenodeoxycholic acid, and the ratio of bile acids and lecithin to cholesterol in bile increased in all patients. Liver function and morphology remained normal; moderate dose-related diarrhea occurred. Chenodeoxycholic acid may offer medical treatment for cholesterol cholelithiasis in man.
Danzinger et al. (Thu,) studied this question.