Serum Bile Acids in Cholestatic Liver Disease: Their Measurement and Significance

Abstract

A relatively rapid and specific method for the estimation of serum individual bile acids, conjugated and free, in small volumes (1 ml) of sera from patients with liver disease has been developed. This method has been applied to a study of 25 patients with liver disease. Cholestatic liver disease has been found to be associated with an increase in serum monohydroxy bile acids which appear to be of an unsaturated nature. No association was found between the concentration of any particular bile acid and the presence or absence of pruritus.