Ocaliva, a synthetic bile acid analog with high affinity for the nuclear bile acid receptor FXR, is effective in treating primary biliary cholangitis, an autoimmune liver disease. It works in patients who fail to respond to or cannot tolerate conventional treatment with the natural bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

When grown in the presence of bile acids, two strains of Clostridium limosum were found to contain significant amounts of NADP-dependent 7a/7/3-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and NAD-dependent 7a-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase which were active against conjugated and unconjugated bile acids. No measurable activity could be found when deoxycholic acid (3a, 12a-dihydroxy-5/3-cholan-24-oic acid) was u...

Unconjugated bile acids were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the serum of two subjects throughout a 24 hour period and in two other subjects over a six hour period after breakfast. Unconjugated bile acids were found in all samples of serum and included cholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, 3 beta, 7 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholanic (iso-chenodeoxycholic), ursodeoxycholic,...

The British/Belgian Gall Stone Study Group (BBGSG) post-dissolution trial was a prospective, multicentre, randomised, double blind trial of: (i) low dose ursodeoxycholic acid, (ii) placebo, and (iii) a high fibre, low refined carbohydrate diet in the prevention of gall stone recurrence in patients with complete gall stone dissolution. Further aims included establishing the timing and frequency ...