BACKGROUND The effects of ezetimibe on cholesterol metabolism in HIV-infected patients receiving boosted protease inhibitors have not been thoroughly assessed. The aim of this study was to assess cholesterol homeostasis in patients with PI associated dyslipidemia and its relationship with the response to treatment with the cholesterol-absorption inhibitor ezetimibe. METHODS Fifteen patients w...

Background: Whether ileal absorption of bile acid is up or downregulated in chronic cholestasis is still debated, and most evidence has come from animal studies. Aims: To compare ileal bile acid absorption in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and in healthy control subjects, and to assess the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Patients: We studied 14 PBC patients before and duri...

We measured non-haem Fe absorption with and without added Ca in a short-term feeding study, in thirteen women with marginal Fe status, by the use of a double stable isotope technique. Supplementing 500 mg Ca as calcium carbonate significantly (P = 0.0009) reduced Fe absorption from a single meal from 10.2 % (range 2.2-40.6) to 4.8 % (range 0.7-18.9). A significant inverse correlation in the abs...

An exchange of Na(+) for H(+) has been proposed to explain why jejunal Na(+) absorption is influenced by luminal concentrations of H(+) and HCO(3) (-). We studied the influence of luminal Na(+) concentration on net HCO(3) (-) absorption by perfusing rat jejunum in vivo. When Na(+) was omitted from the perfusion fluid, HCO(3) (-) absorption diminished by a fixed amount over a range of initial HC...

Studies have shown that glucose is able to decrease the pH of the surface epithelium jejunal preparations when added in vitro and the existence of a high concentration of protons in the immediate area of the mucosa could be of considerable significance for absorption of electrolytes. The aim of this study is to assess whether the change in pH of Tyrode (solution used for perfusion of the jejunu...