19/12/2023
Hi vet !
Bile acids are a major constituent of bile, they are synthesized in the liver from cholesterol, and are conjugated, predominantly with taurine, before biliary secretion as salts, they aid in digestion and absorption of dietary fat.
Bile acids are stored in the gallbladder and released following feeding. Enterohepatic circulation recycles bile acids released into the portal circulation: only a small amount appearing in the systemic circulation of healthy animals.
Serum bile acids concentration can be abnormal if hepatic function is sub-optimal, if there is a portosystemic shunt or if biliary obstruction occurs. Increases in serum bile acids are not specific for certain disease types.
Serum bile acids are usually evaluated in paired samples: fasting and 2 hours postprandial (bile acid stimulation test). This improves the sensibility of the test.
It must be noted that in cholestasis, fasting serum bile acids (FSBA) concentrations can be high and often do not increase much postprandially, whereas some patients with Portosystemic shunt have normal FSBA and massively abnormal postprandial serum bile acids (PPSBA) concentrations.
Reference interval (varies between authors): fasting bile acids normally < 5 μmol/L; fasting BAs > 15 μmol/L and/or postprandial BAs > 30 μmol/L are abnormal.
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