# Bile Acid Malabsorption Common in Patients With Chronic Diarrhea



## Jeffrey Roberts

Bile Acid Malabsorption Common in PatientsWith Chronic Diarrhea WESTPORT, Jun 26 (Reuters Health) - A high proportion of patients who havechronic diarrhea have bile acid malabsorption, Swedish researchers report.Steatorrhea is also frequent but is independent of bile acid malabsorption. Dr. Kjell-Arne Ung and colleagues from Sahlgrenska University Hospital, inGoteborg, prospectively evaluated 94 patients with chronic diarrhea using the75-SeHCAT test, which evaluates loss of bile acids, and a fecal fat excretiontest. In addition, the patients completed a symptom questionnaire over the 7days before the 75-SeHCAT test. The researchers report in the May issue of the European Journal ofGastroenterology and Hepatology that mild steatorrhea was common, presentin 50% of patients with non-organic bile acid malabsorption and 38% ofpatients with functional diarrhea. Low 75-SeHCAT values alone did not predict the risk of steatorrhea, "althoughsome patients with severe organic disease had a concomitant malabsorption offat and of bile acids." Dr. Ung's group notes that severe steatorrhea wascommon in patients with celiac disease, even in patients with high 75-SeHCATvalues. Patients with bile acid malabsorption had significantly more frequent andlooser stools compared with those who had functional diarrhea. But abdominalpain, distension and flatulence did not differentiate patients with bile acidmalabsorption from those with normal bile acid absorption. "The high prevalence of bile acid malabsorption and the absence of specificsymptoms, with the exception of frequent and liquid stools, indicates that the75-SeHCAT test should be performed early in the investigation of patients withchronic diarrhea," Dr. Ung and colleagues conclude. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2000;12:541-547.


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## JeanG

Thanks, Jeff! This is very interesting. It may be why the Caltrate works as well as it does.







JeanG


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## cookies4marilyn

Another good post, Jeff...had to look up the term: steatorrhea..means fatty stools as seen in pancreatic diseases and also impaired absorption. My mom passed away from primary biliary chirrosis, so liver and bile function is always something of interest to me. Especially for monitoring possible tendancies for this condition,though not essentially hereditary, it can run in families..so I monitor IBS functions with that in the back of my mind sometimes.Thanks for posting, Jeff!







------------------"Cookies" alias Marilyn


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