The role of cholestanol in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones . Review : Hypothesis and Conception ( 1991 ) Jacob

The results allow proposing a novel hypothesis and concept of cholesterol gallstone pathogenesis in man: cholestanol may be responsible for the cholesterol supersaturation of gallbladder bile, aseptic inflammation of the gallbladder mucus and consecutive hypersecretion of glycoprotein mucin, gallbladder hypomotility as well as for the heterogenic nucleation process and precipitation of cholesterol monohydrate crystals. Collectively, those data may suggest that cholestanol is likely to play an important role in cholesterol gallstone formation and the cholestanol/cholesterol ratio may be an initializing factor in this process. An increased ratio of cholestanol to cholesterol in bile may be a marker of cholesterol gallstone disease before cholesterol gallstone formation.