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Biomedical subjects

K W Heaton

Publications and source records attributed to K W Heaton.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1973

Alteration of bile salt metabolism by dietary fibre (bran).

Feeding dietary fibre in the form of bran induced changes in bile salt metabolism in five people with intact gall bladders. There was evidence of reduced dehydroxylation of bile salts; the proportion of deoxycholate conjugates in bile was reduced and the transfer of radioactivity from labelled taurocholate to deoxycholate was decreased. These findings, which were independent of changes in intestinal transit rate, imply that bran reduced the degradation of bile salts by colonic bacteria. This property of bran accords with recent theories that fibre-depleted diets favour the degradation of bile salts in the colon. These findings may be relevant to the aetiology of large bowel cancer.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1973

Bile salt metabolism in patients with gallstones in functioning gallbladders.

Isotopic bile salt studies were carried out in eight middle-aged women with radiolucent galstones in functioning gallbladders and in 10 matched controls. In the gallstone patients the size of the bile salt pool was reduced by 37% to 1.79 g, but there was considerable overlap with the normal subjects. The cholate and chenodeoxycholate pools were reduced, but the deoxycholate pool was normal in size. There were changes in bile salt metabolism which resembled those found after cholecystectomy but were less marked. This suggests that in gallstone disease the storage capacity of the gallbladder is impaired. This may contribute to the small bile salt pool, but it is unlikely to be the sole or even the major cause.

Adult↗
PubMed1973

The effect of coeliac disease upon bile salts.

The size and composition of the bile salt pool has been measured in patients with untreated coeliac disease and in control subjects. The total bile salt pool was markedly increased in coeliac patients, the average being 9.2 grams compared with 3.1 grams in controls. Taurocholate synthesis was normal, consistent with its enlarged pool and prolonged half-life. Half-life and pool size were significantly correlated. The composition of the bile salt pool was virtually identical in the two groups. Our findings suggest that as the enterohepatic circulation is slowed by gallbladder inertia, so hepatic surveillance of pool size is diminished.

Adult↗
PubMed1973

Bile acids and vitamin A absorption in man: the effects of two bile acid-binding agents, cholestyramine and lignin.

In 14 healthy volunteers, the addition of 12 g cholestyramine to a vitamin A-containing test meal reduced the expected rise in serum vitamin A by 59.5% (p<0.001). By contrast, lignin had no significant effect in 12 subjects. This study confirms the importance of bile acids in vitamin A absorption and the ineffectiveness of lignin as a sequestrator of conjugated bile acids.

Adult↗
PubMed1973

The effect of cholecystectomy on bile salt metabolism.

Isotopic bile salt studies have been performed in 13 cholecystectomy patients and 10 matched controls using labelled taurocholate and deoxycholic acid. Cholecystectomy subjects have reduced pools of both primary bile salts, cholate and chenodeoxycholate, while the deoxycholate pool remains normal in size. As a result of these changes, the total bile salt pool is reduced to almost half its normal size and deoxycholate becomes the predominant bile salt. The half-life of taurocholate is reduced but, because its pool size is diminished, the daily synthesis of taurocholate remains normal. There is accelerated transfer of (14)C from taurocholate-24-(14)C to its metabolites in bile, especially deoxycholate conjugates. In four subjects studied pre- and postoperatively similar changes occurred in all the above parameters. All these data can be explained by the fact that the bile salt pool circulates during fasting as well as during digestion. The consequences of this are (1) increased exposure of bile salts to intestinal bacteria and hence increased bacterial degradation; (2) continuous passage of the bile salt pool through the liver, and therefore continuous and presumably enhanced feedback inhibition of hepatic bile salt synthesis. The reservoir function of the gallbladder influences the size, kinetics, metabolism, and composition of the bile salt pool. We suggest that no study of bile salt metabolism is complete without some assessment of gallbladder status.

Adult↗
PubMed1972

Increasing frequency of gall bladder operations in the Bristol clinical area.

In the Bristol clinical area the frequency of gall bladder operations rose by a factor of 3.4 between 1940 and 1970, the greatest increase occurring in the 1950s. The increase took place in all age groups, but was greatest in the under-30s and in men. Numerous factors affect the chance of a patient with gall stones being operated on, but a change of this magnitude suggests there has been a substantial rise in the incidence of gall stones since the second world war. This belief is supported by data from the nationwide Hospital In-patient Enquiry.

Adolescent↗