ALIMENTARY PRODUCTION OF GALLSTONES IN HAMSTERS .22. INFLUENCE OF A NON-ABSORBABLE BILE ACID BINDING RESIN CHOLESTYRAMINE ON FORMATION OF GALLSTONES IN HAMSTERS

The influence of the bile acid binding, non-absorbable substance cholestyramine on alimentary production of gallstones in young hamsters was examined by rearing one group of the animals on a diet without added fat containing 74.3% glucose as the carbohydrate component (and twice the usual amount of vitamins A, D3 and E), and another group on the same diet supplement with 3% cholestyramine at the expense of glucose. The animals were killed and autopsied after having received the experimental diets for 42-43 days from the age of 30-32 days. The cholestyramine supplement markedly reduced the production of cholesterol gallstones, but not to the same degree as that obtained in numerous previous experiments by replacing the content of glucose in the basal diet by rice starch. Further, the cholestyramine supplement markedly favored production of amorphous pigmented gallstones, an effect not encountered when cholesterol gallstones are eliminated by replacing the content of glucose in the basal diet by rice starch. The growth of the animals was not significantly retarded by the cholestyramine supplement, and none of the animals showed gross signs of deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins. The amount of vitamin A in the livers was of the order of magnitude of 100 microgram per gram in both groups, but significantly lower in the group receiving cholestyramine than in the group receiving the unsupplemented diet. © 1969 Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag.