High bile acid

Many friends will find that they have high bile acid levels during physical examinations, but they don’t know what causes it, nor do they know what harm high bile acid levels can cause. In fact, bile acid is also an important factor in diagnosing whether liver function is normal. If the bile acid level is high, it is usually caused by liver damage.

Clinically, there are many diseases caused by high bile acid levels, such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, and biliary obstruction. Therefore, if you are found to have high bile acid levels, please go to the hospital for a specific physical examination to see if it is caused by any disease.

The bile acids synthesized by the normal human liver include cholic acid (CA), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), deoxycholic acid (DCA) produced during metabolism, a small amount of lithocholic acid (LCA) and trace amounts of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), collectively known as total bile acid (TBA).

Total bile acid is synthesized in the liver and combined with glycine or taurine to become conjugated bile acid, which is then secreted into bile by liver cells. After reaching the intestine with bile, it is hydrolyzed into free bile acid by intestinal bacteria. 97% of it is reabsorbed by the intestine and returns to the liver. The cycle continues endlessly. This allows total bile acids to exert their maximum physiological effect. It can also prevent a large amount of total bile acid from entering the circulation and poisoning other tissue cells.

What is the significance of high total bile acid

1. High total bile acid levels indicate liver cell lesions and increased bile acid levels in the blood. Bile acid levels increase significantly in acute hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Especially in cirrhosis and liver cancer, the increase rate of total bile acid is > (95%), which is also 20% higher than alanine aminotransferase (ALT).

2. When the liver is damaged, the synthesis of bile acid by hepatocytes decreases, while the synthesis of chenodeoxycholic acid increases.

3. When hepatocytes are damaged, the CA/CDCA ratio is less than 1.0.

4. In obstructive jaundice, the CA/CDCA ratio is greater than 1.0.

5. Cholestasis of pregnancy syndrome and disruption of enterohepatic circulation.

6. High total bile acid levels are seen in acute and chronic viral hepatitis, bile stasis, chronic ethanol poisoning, cirrhosis, primary liver cancer, biliary obstruction, etc.

The above is an introduction to the specific hazards of high bile acid. In order to avoid high bile acid, you should pay more attention to eating soy products and pay attention to lowering the cholesterol content in food. Only in this way can you avoid high bile acid as much as possible. If you are diagnosed with liver disease, please seek treatment in time.